Computer Disk Storage Prices Continue to Decline

 

If you want to keep it, back it up. Computers and the associated devices are consumables. They are not investments. That means that any electronic device will have a life span and ultimately fail. The common lifespan rule of thumb for all devices, including computers, hard disk drives, smartphones, tablets or pads, and all the rest, is five years with a possible maximum of eight years. Even if a computer is physically sound, it can become "obsolete" as software and operating systems become more demanding, and older hardware struggles to keep up.

What this means is that the older the devices get, the more likely they are to fail but there are many ways electronics can fail long before the life span. So, what does this mean in plain English? You need to be aware of the age of each of your devices that you depend on for memory storage. The good news is that the cost of both hard drives and SSDs (Solid State Devices) continues to come down. Although, external pressures that affect availabilty and manufacture may temporarily drive up prices. In addition, the storage capacity of hard drives continues to increase and therefore drive down prices on smaller capacity hand drives. 

Currently, (at the date of this post), the newest, readily available, large capacity hard drives are up to 22 Terabytes in storage capacity. This is more than most people could fill during most of their lives. Depending on the resolution of the average one to two hour movie, a 20 TB hard drive could store about 13,333 movies. If the movies were higher quality 4K , that number may drop to 5,000. But for the average genealogist anything over a 10 TB hard drive would probably never entirely fill up.

But let's look at current prices. A Seagate Expansion 10TB External Hard Drive HDD - USB 3.0, with Rescue Data Recovery Services (STKP10000402) on Amazon is selling for $284 but there may be other prices for similar drives. If you want to see the statistics on hard drive failure rates, see Backblaze Drive Stats for Q1 2025. But, the price of a Seagate Expansion 22TB External Hard Drive HDD - USB 3.0, with Rescue Data Recovery Services (STKP22000400) is $299. For about $15 more, you can get double the capacity. 

So let's say you look at the size of your current computer's internal memory and it is much smaller than 22 TBs. You think well, all I need is a 1 or 2 TB hard drive to back up everything on my computer, (See one of my old posts: Struggling to Stay Online -- Back it up or lose it), Right now, a Seagate Portable 1TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PlayStation, & Xbox, 1-Year Rescue Service (STGX1000400) , Black is $59 and a Seagate Portable 2TB External Hard Drive HDD — USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PlayStation, & Xbox -1-Year Rescue Service (STGX2000400) is $69. 

By the way, you can purchase a Seagate Expansion 28TB External Hard Drive HDD - USB 3.0, with Rescue Data Recovery Services (STKP28000400) for $389. 

The question is how much is all the time and effort you have put into the contents of your computer's hard drive are you willing to all over again?

Back it up or lose it. 

Why is Thomas Hicks a revolving door ancestor?

 

Thomas Hicks MDCG-YHY is a revolving door ancestor.  He was called to my attention by a guest of the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah who I was helping with a consultation. See https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/genealogy-help It just so happens that I am also related to this person assuming that the lines shown in View Relationship are correct. Thomas Hicks is a revolving door ancestor because the basic information about him is changing constantly with nine changes to the identity of his wife and other data in the last two weeks and there are hundreds perhaps into the thousands of changes logged by the Show All changes option. 

I am not about to spend the time necessary to clear up the confusion about Thomas Hicks because it is a waste of time. This revolving door of constant changes should be made an award and I suggested that the people who qualify be marked with this possible icon. 

Perhaps, there should be a competition for finding the individual on the FamilySearch Family Tree with the most changes. I already have in mind several individuals who are probably candidates for that honor. Perhaps something like this:

The tragedy from my recent consultation was that the person requesting help refuses to put his information on the Family Tree due to the changes. How many people are not using the FamilySearch.org Family Tree for exactly that reason and that reason alone? The irony of this particular person being a revolving door ancestor is that he appears in New England between 1557 and seems to appear on the FamilySearch.org Family Tree sometime before 2012. The further irony of this revolving door award winning person is that he had an extensive number of descendants who obviously have their ancestral heritage change with each change to Thomas Hicks. 

In addition, any of the find my relative apps will constantly show a different set of proposed relatives. 

I refuse to do any research in New England because of this constant threat of constant change. Yes, I know all about the CET trees project and when it is released, I will likely be able to look at my New England heritage once more.

Is AI helpful or merely trivial?

As a genealogist, there is a division between activities that help and support genealogical/historical research and those that are mere play-time diversions. AI is not my "companion." AI is not going to help me with my daily schedule. AI is not going to improve the quality of my life (at least not directly). I am not looking to AI for advice about my life. AI is not a game or pass-time. So, what good is AI to a genealogical researcher? 

I have been working on that aspect of AI now for more than three years. I have compared several of the Chatbot AI programs and tried to see how AI fits into my daily routine of finding genealogical records, drafting blog posts, developing webinar and class presentations, and answering questions from patrons at the Family History Center at the BYU Library and consultations with guests from the FamilySearch Library's webpage. (https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/genealogy-help). Here is what I have found so far. 

First of all, I find it necessary to plough through the fluff and triviality of most of the online suggested AI activities. One of the main activities of genealogical research is the process of asking questions and finding answers from valid historical documents usually referred to as the "Research Process." But because of the complex nature of the overall genealogical activities that support research, I often need help with the mechanics of using online programs and resources. I also need to keep my computer system operational. So where does AI fit into this process and how do we avoid being side tracked by triviality?

At it core, AI as it is now being promoted is nothing more or less that an enhanced search engine with a robotic interface. If this assessment is the case, and I think it am right, AI should help with research as a step-up from a Google Search. What I do find, after trying different approaches, is that AI gives answers and not just a list of possibly useful websites. Initially, there was a lot of hand wringing over the accuracy of the AI Chatbots. The answer to the issue of the reliability of the information from the Chatbots was simply providing the source of their responses. The good news is that both Google Gemini and Microsoft CoPilot now provided accurate source citations to their responses. This allows the information to be evaluated and incorporated into the Research Process. You will have to try this out for yourself, but I find routine questions about history are adequately addressed. The AI Chatbots can also give me suggested online record sources and other related questions. 

What this means for the average genealogical researcher is that AI can become your preferred search engine as long as it provides adequate source citations. 

Here is a short example. I asked Microsoft CoPilot the following question:

Tell me the Catholic parish and diocese of Nuevo Colón, Boyacá, Colombia 

I got the following response:

The Catholic parish in Nuevo Colón, Boyacá, Colombia is Parroquia Nuestra Señora de la Antigua, located at Carrera 4 N° 3 - 26, Nuevo Colón, Boyacá, 90230. This parish falls under the jurisdiction of the Arquidiócesis de Tunja. If you need more details, you can check out their official page .

The answer also linked to the following website for support.

Iglesias y Parroquias Católicas en Nuevo Colon Boyacá , Colombia

https://www.tramiya.com/iglesias-y-parroquias-catolicas-en-nuevo-colon-boyaca-colombia/  

This is definitely an enhanced help from trying to find this website with a Google Search when I have no idea that it exists. A check by searching from the town, Nuevo Colon Boyacá , Colombia, on Google Maps shows the churches in that town correspond to the response from CoPilot. 

Now, why would I use CoPilot? I got both answers with links Even with the mapy of the town, I still do not know the dioceses. 

If you are doing hundreds of searches every day, the convenience of the Chatbots saves valuable time. 

Now what else. We (my extended family) are finding the organizing a lot of information on a spreadsheet in enhanced. We also find that asking for instructions about fixing online computer issues is enhanced. We like these features but see no use for the fluff. I don't need a Chatbot to tell me what I need to buy at the store for example. Although I might use a Chatbot to research purchases. So we come back to using AI for finding resources and answering questions. 

Genealogy is not just copying names

 

In some parts of the world, particularly for people who descend from ancestors from Western Europe, genealogy is not a particularly new innovation or pursuit. In my 43 years of doing genealogical research, I spent the first 15 or so years copying genealogical information from my ancestors. This information was found in books and a huge number of family group sheets located in the Salt Lake City Family History Library. The information that I found was sometimes incomplete and inaccurate. For example, I found this book in my father's personal library. 

Tanner, George S. John Tanner and His Family: A History-Biography of John Tanner of Lake George, New York, Born August 15, 1778, Hopkinton, Rhode Island, Died April 13, 1850, at South Cottonwood, Utah. Salt Lake City: John Tanner Family Association., 1974.

This book contained a short section about John Tanner's ancestors going back to one William Tanner from the Rhode Island colony in the 1700s. Because it appeared that all the information was available in this book, it seemed that all I needed to do was copy the information out into my own genealogy computer program. (My use of computers for doing genealogy started at about the same time.) The problem was that the information about "William Tanner" was both partial and inaccurate. Many, many years later, after beginning actual research, learning a lot more about genealogical research, and looking at original source records from Rhode Island, I boiled down most of the inaccuracies to the simple fact that no one had yet identified William Tanner and had certainly not traced his origin to England. 

Now, what is happening with the online family trees and William Tanner? A huge number of William Tanner's supposed descendants are still copying the inaccurate and incomplete information out of the John Tanner book cited above. The reality is that I have found as many as ten men living in the Rhode Island Colony during the same late 1600s to 1700s with the same name: William Tanner. The results are evident from the constant ignorant changes and additions being made to the FamilySearch.org Family Tree entry for an entry many consider to be the person from the book. Here is a screenshot of the entries you can find with people who may or may not be THE William Tanner who is the ancestor of John Tanner from the book. 

What is known about the true William Tanner has been documented with deeds, wills, and other contemporary documents. 

Copying is not research.  

Why is Genealogy or Family History so challenging?

 

There are always obstacles and challenges to doing genealogical research. But, time and learning can over come most, if not all these challenges. The main issues deal with the difficulty of getting started and continuing to learn in order to adapt to rapidly changing technology. 

First a note about terminology. Genealogy and Family History are merely two different terms for exactly the same pursuit. The term "genealogy" is used more frequently in the United States and the term "family history" is more common in the United Kingdom. The only major university in the United States with a degree in genealogy, Brigham Young University, consistently uses the term "family history." But see also the Family History Portal where the term "Center for Family History and Genealoogy" is used. I use the terms interchangeably. 

Here are a three of the major challenges of pursuing an interest in genealogy or if you prefer, family history. 

Finding the motivation to begin learning the basics of genealogical research. 

Depending on your own background and perhaps, religious affiliation, you may have heard more or less about searching for your ancestors. There is a constant, low-level background of mostly online discussion about involving new people, mainly youth, in genealogy or family history. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDA Church) are frequently reminded that searching out their ancestors is part of being a member. See Family History. There are major websites dedicated to help "youth" become involved. See, for example, Youth, Connect with Your Ancestors. Those who are not members of the LDS Church who make up the vast majority of those are involved in genealogy become fascinated by learning about their ancestral heritage apart from any religious motivation. 

So a religious motivation alone is not usually the reason why someone would go through the effort of learning what is usually an involved and difficult pursuit.  For example, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has promoted family history for over a hundred years and it is well known that the percentage of members of the church actively doing genealogical research is less the 5% of the total membership. However, 5% of over 17 million people is a lot of people interested in genealogy. See How the FamilySearch tool Ordinances Ready is hastening and simplifying temple and family history work for an example. Additionally, the in-person attendance at the annual RootsTech conference has been well above 20,000. It is my opinion that motivation must come from a personal interest in doing research and finding ancestral lines. That motivation could come from a family member, but that was not my own experience. Additionally, to be involved at anything like the level demonstrated by many of my associates, requires more than an interest, it requires years of effort dedicated to learning and practicing a high level of stubborn pursuit. 

Beginning the process of doing genealogical research.

Genealogical research is more than a hobby, it is an avocation and can become a full-time obsession. Genealogy involves historical research. There is nothing about genealogy that is easy to do. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates around 3,400 historians out of a population of over 300 million, were employed in 2023. See Occupational Outlook Handbook. Interesting, an Ipsos poll from June 2021 found that 7 in 10 Americans think it's important to know their family's history. See Majority of Americans think knowing their ancestry is important. There is a general confusion over an interest in family history and actually doing genealogical/historical research. Also, taking a DNA test or actually doing research into original historical records is the dividing factor in the vastly different perspectives. 

Accepting the standards of carefully researched genealogy.

Even among those who are involved in "researching" their family lines, there is a significant percentage (not readily measurable) of those who lack the historical research skills to produce accurate and supported genealogical data. I must admit that this is a subjective conclusion on my part but it is based on well over 43 years of active genealogical experience. Many would-be genealogists give up when they learn that genealogical/historical research has standards. See Ethics and Standards. The fact that there are university level degrees in genealogy and family history should indicate that genealogy is a lot more than a part-time hobby. 

So, to summarize, genealogy is not a restful, Sunday afternoon, past-time for older people. It is a serious and difficult part of a historical research. The numbers of active participants, after subtracting those who do not have the skills necessary to actually do genealogical research, indicate that it is a highly specialized pursuit. I would say occupation but the number of people who make enough money to live from doing genealogical research is an insignificant number of the small number of people who do historical record supported research. 

FamilySearch's Struggle with Duplication

 

I recently discovered the second installment in the history of FamilySearch.org (aka The Genealogical Society of Utah or GSU). I have written about the first book in the past but it is still required reading for anyone interested in understanding the monumental task faced by FamilySearch to eliminate duplication of entries submitted to the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Presently, with the FamilySearch.org Family Tree, the historical problem is still abundantly present. 

The concern over duplication was one of the main motivating factors for the establishment of the GSU. Here are the two books that explain, in great detail, the challenges faced by the GSU and its trade name FamilySearch. 

Allen, James B, Jessie L Embry, and Kahlile B Mehr. Hearts Turned to the Fathers: A History of the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1894-1994. Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, Brigham Young University, 1995.

Kahlile Bliss Mehr. Dawning Of The Digital Age: The Family History Department, 1995-2011, 2014. http://archive.org/details/MehrDawningOfTheDigitalAge.

Before you start wringing your hands or bemoaning the issues with the FamilySearch.org Family Tree especially about duplicate entries, you must read both books from cover to cover. The Hearts Turned to the Fathers book is still available from Amazon and Deseret Book. The second book is available to read on Archive.org. You can find an ebook edition of the first book from Barnes & Noble. 

From what I have read, the main issue confronting the GSU (FamilySearch) all along has been the technological challenges of attempting to create a tree for all mankind. So far, the FamilySearch.org Family Tree is the best that we have. I can also say that recent developments in the Family Tree are heading in the right direction and the issue of duplicate entries is still in the forefront of the development. But from my standpoint, if you come to me an complain about duplicates, changing entries, or any of the other issues with the Family Tree, I will simply say, wait and see what happens. Technology is changing rapidly and the Family Tree is changing as rapidly as the new technology is available and can be adapted to the development of the Family Tree. 

How about thanking FamilySearch for its efforts and praising them for trying to invent and use technology that was not available until the last few weeks before this post was written. 

How up to date is the FamilySearch Research Wiki?

 

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/England_Genealogy

The FamilySearch.org Research Wiki is one of the most valuable genealogical resources currently available. With more than 100,000 articles, it covers more information than can easily be comprehended. It was designed as a "wiki" for the purpose of allowing users to create and edit information. However, it has been a long time since the days when any interested contributor was allowed to edit information. In July 2024, all the remaining long-time editors were blocked from further edits. I speculate that FamilySearch is working on adding an AI search capability to the wiki and need to "freeze" the wiki while that development goes on. Meanwhile, the articles are aging rapidly. Of course, not all the wiki is affected by the passage of time. But some of the major articles about specific countries are basically become out of date due to both historical and technological changes. Here is an example from the article on England and the subsequent articles linked to the main England page. See link above.

There is a page in the wiki that explains much of what is outlined below but the page has very few useful links and cannot easily be found. See https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/England_Jurisdictions 

There are 40 counties in this list. Currently, there are 48 counties in England. The statement in the text before the county list states that "The England counties listed below are based on historic boundaries pre-1974." Some of these counties no longer exist. As of 2025, there are 48 administrative counties in England. Some of these as listed above are purely traditional and do not appear in the current list. These missing counties include Cumberland, Huntingdonshire, London, Middlesex, Sussex, Westmorland, and Yorkshire.

These current counties are not separate articles or in the list above from the Research Wiki: Bristol, City of London, Cumbria, East Riding of Yorkshire, East Sussex, Greater London, Greater Manchester, Isle of Wight, Merseyside, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands, West Sussex, and West Yorkshire. 

In 1851, England had 40 counties for the purposes of census reporting, which were known as "registration counties". From 1851 to 1911, the "registration counties" were used for census reporting and administrative purposes. It's important to note that there are different definitions of "county" in England today: there are ceremonial counties (48), metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties for local government (84), and historic counties (39). The England 1851 map shown above is based on the 40 registration counties. 

Now the issue with these differing lists is that each of current 48 counties has its own archives and family history resources. Some of the administrative counties, such as the Isle of Wight, have been a county since 1890. See https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Isle_of_Wight,_England_Genealogy But some of the other counties do not have separate pages. 

This is just one example of the difficulty of administering and maintaining a collection of over 100,000 articles without the help of a willing and able community. For whatever reason, the editing of the Research Wiki has been limited to those inside FamilySearch. I might mention that most of the information about the Canadian Provinces is also out of date. 

Some of the countries of the world, such as Chechnya, are almost completely missing from the Research Wiki. 

I realize that traditionally, genealogists record events and sources with the places as they were at the time of the events in an ancestor's life. When changes occur, the name of the place changes. This means that without moving some of my ancestors' places entries change. The main challenge illustrated with my example above about England is locating the present jurisdiction so that a search can be made in the historical jurisdiction. The best example of this challenge is Yorkshire County, England, which is now North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire. 

It will be a great loss to the genealogical community of the Research Wiki continues to go further out of date. 

Origins going back 10,000 years from MyHeritage

 https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/02/introducing-ancient-origins-trace-your-origins-back-10000-years/

If you obtain enough DNA information from enough people, it is possible to draw conclusions about ancient origins. Here is the promotional video for the MyHeritage.com new Ancient Origins.

https://youtu.be/LlRKBp_YUp4?si=n4jjD7d8X2FaGyFM

Here is a link to the blog announcing the new DNA feature. https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/02/introducing-ancient-origins-trace-your-origins-back-10000-years/

I have had both my MyHeritage.com and Ancestry.com DNA on MyHeritage.com for some time. I currently have 18, 502 matches. My matches span the globe. 

If you think that projecting DNA matches back 10,000 years is a gimmick or imaginary, you don't know what is going on in the world-wide DNA community. Here are some links to articles explaining other long DNA projections. 

https://www.templeton.org/news/revising-human-history-through-ancient-dna

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43586-020-00011-0 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098222100436X

There are probably hundreds more articles along the same lines. 

Now what about my own ancient DNA? There is a lot to explore on MyHeritage.com.

Each of the areas have futher analysis (I think I look just like the person used as an example except for the hair)

You can continue to explore more with the links given to support the conclusions. Here is one link.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aat7487 

Have fun learning about this new extension to your DNA origins. Of course, you have to have a family tree and a DNA test on MyHeritage to get the full results.

Google Gemini's Deep Research does genealogical research like a pro

 

RootsTech 2025 is only back one week when AI to a larger than life leap in its ability to do "real" research. This screenshot shows the product of Gemini Deep Research prompt to tell me about my great-grandfather Henry Martin Tanner. This lengthy bio is supported by more than a hundred relevant and accurate source citations. The whole process took about ten minutes. 

I am still in the process of learning about the options and any problems with using this new tool, but initially it looks like a major advancement. Here is the link to the Google explanation about this new AI development. https://gemini.google/overview/deep-research/?hl=en

I will be doing a online presentation about using AI to do Family History Research on 30 March 2025 for the BYU Library Family History Center. This will include some of my observations about using Deep Research from Google Gemini. See https://familyhistory.lib.byu.edu/learning for the link to our Virtual Family History Classes. After the class has been presented, the video will be uploaded to the BYU Library Family History ¥ouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@BYULibraryFamilyHistory

More later.

23andMe files for Bankruptcy two weeks after RootsTech appearance

 https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/24/23andme-files-for-bankruptcy-anne-wojcicki-steps-down-as-ceo.html

For sometime now the news about 23andMe.com has not been good. Because I read the news, I was surprised to see their booth at RootsTech.org this year. 23andMe.com was a Gold Sponsor. 

Quick Google search indicates that customers of 23andMe.com can download their raw DNA data. Here is link to Accessing Your Raw Genetic Data from the webiste. 

What can you do with your raw DNA data for free? There are several options: FamilyTreeDNA.com, and MyHeritage.com are two examples. Just ask the question about uploading your raw DNA data in a Google search. 

All about Greek Genealogy with the Hellenic Genealogy Geek Facebook page

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/118224528189671

In the past few weeks, the subject of Greek or Hellenic genealogy has come up. At the recent RootsTech 2025 conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, I met Historian and Genealogy expert Gregory Kontos. He has a website at greekancestry.net. 

I met him in conjunction with talking to MyHeritage at the conference. MyHeritage is building a collection of Greek records. 

FamilySearch.org also has a sizable collection of Greek records. See the Research Wiki for Greece: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Greece_Genealogy

From the map of Greece in the Research Wiki and the list of Regions (Perifereia) and Counties (Prefectures), it looks like Greece is one of the more complicated places to do research including learning the alphabet and language. 

I am now interested in learning more about Greek genealogy.

Guidelines for the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Genealogy at RootsTech 2025

See CRAIGEN.org

The Coalition for the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Genealogy will have a panel discussion at RootsTech 2025. The presentation will take place Friday in Ballroom B at Salt Palace and will also be live-streamed at 4:30 p.m. MT. There is a link for submitting questions.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQmg3ZefeLMDbYt85OCZJGQCWGo_Dp67KmVNpp2p6Xqv6qQg/viewform

Here is the link to the panel discussion. 

https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/session/guidelines-for-the-responsible-use-of-artificial-intelligence-ai-in-genealogy 

The panel discussion will be broadcast live. 

The FamilySearch Double Bind

 

Sometimes it is difficult to work with FamilySearch.org. This is especially true when I am consulting with people who live in Latin America. Although, I assume that the problems are encountered in other areas of the world. The first part of the problem is access for those I consult with to many of the records on the FamilySearch.org website. In some countries, such as Argentina and Uruguay, nearly all the records are restricted. The restriction notes that the records can only be viewed in a FamilySearch Center. Here is an example of the map showing the location of FamilySearch Centers in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Many of the FamilySearch Centers, as you can see from the list have no phone number and nothing notifying potential patrons of the hours of operation. So, the people that I show the FamilySearch website find it difficult or impossible to actually see any of the records they need to find their ancestors. Of course, the main problem started during the COVID epidemic but the fact that some of nearly all of the centers have no regular hours continues to this day. In addition, even if those I send to FamilySearch Centers actually get some help, many times the volunteers at the Centers do not know how to access the restricted records. 

Another interesting side note that apparently is happening with all the FamilySearch Centers including the Salt Lake Library, is that if you get information about a center you are told that they only support people in French and Malagasy. That's right, the centers contact information says they are all limited to those two languages. 

In another Latin American location, Puerto Rico, which is actually part of the United States, a recent survey, done by one of my friends, did not find even one functional FamilySearch Center in the entire territory out of 11 locations listed by FamilySearch. One Center was only open one hour a month. 

It seems like FamilySearch is helping a lot of people when they claim over 6000 FamilySearch Centers, but due to little or no trained volunteers, the restricted records, the lack of regular hours or contact information,most potential patrons (guests) are left without access to any pertinent records. Here is more of the information from a quote from my friend: (some changes to the original for privacy reasons).

I live in Latin America and I have tried to get in touch with all the family history centers listed on the map in Puerto Rico. Only one has hours of operation, none have a working phone number, and all have as spoken language French and Malagasy.

Being curious, I tried other family history centers in Guadeloupe, Haiti, Nicaragua, Samoa, etc… They all have the same problem… if they have phone numbers, they do not work and when they only have emails to make an appointment, I emailed about 30 of them and only one has responded. (All of them had French and Malagasy as spoken languages)

Any suggestions? Any possible solutions? Any good ideas at all? 

My suggestion is simple. Consolidate the existing centers in one larger center with trained and capable people. Instead of having 36 partially operating centers in Buenos Aires, how about have one central location that actually works and is open enough to help patrons. 

Last note. We are open from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm Monday through Thursday and from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm on Friday at the BYU Library Family History Center and all our missionaries are experienced and/or trained. We are closed any time BYU is closed for holidays and other breaks.   

Relatives at RootsTech is now online

 

https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/

Relatives at RootsTech is always interesting. The large number above for me reflects the number of generations I have in the FamilySearch.org Family Tree. Your number may vary considerably. I have never been able to process the large number of relatives I have. I am glad to meet them and because I live in Provo, Utah, I have a number of relatives in my neighborhood. Some of them are even my friends. 

Back to RootsTech. If you register for the free online or for the paid live at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah, you can go to the website for RootsTech.org and see your potential relatives. There is also a map showing you where they all live. Here is my map.

Hope to see you at RootsTech in person. 

Announcing MyHeritage.com DNA Ethnicity Estimate v2.5

Introducing Ethnicity Estimate v2.5: The Long-Awaited Improved DNA Ethnicity Model 

Quoting from the introductory email dated 2 February 2025:

Today we’re delighted to release Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 to everyone. New MyHeritage DNA users will receive Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 results from day one. As for existing MyHeritage DNA users who have received v0.95 ethnicity results before: we want everyone to be comfortable with their results, so we’re giving them the choice: Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 is opt-in, and is not automatically activated for our existing DNA users, so it will not override the previous ethnicity results. It’s up to you to decide if you want to see the new results, or if you prefer to stick with the original ones. If you decide to receive your updated results, you’ll be able to switch back and forth between the models at any time using a simple dropdown on the results page. Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 is free for all users.

 Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 Overview

The Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 model is based on advanced new algorithms developed by the MyHeritage Science Team from the ground up following two years of extensive research and fine tuning. The new ethnicity breakdown provides better resolution; for example, individuals whose DNA results previously showed Scandinavian ethnicity will now receive results specifying what percentage of their ethnic makeup is Swedish, Norwegian, or Danish

Learn more in our blog post about Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 and please see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CffkVq74joo

Three more keynote speakers for RootsTech

https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/

RootsTech.org announces three additional keynote speakers from around the world. Quoting from the announcement:

Ysabelle Cuevas

Philippines born singer and songwriter Ysabelle Cuevas got her start releasing covers of popular songs on YouTube. Since 2016, her work has amassed over 700 Million streams, with her biggest release “I Like You So Much, You’ll Know It” collecting over 175 Million streams on YouTube to date. In 2018, she released her first original song “Daunted” through Warner Music Philippines, which has since accumulated millions of streams in SouthEast Asia and North America.

Ysabelle’s incredibly versatile voice and innate mastery of vocal production has allowed her to bridge genres and cultures. A lover of Korean culture herself, Ysabelle has personally translated Korean songs into both Filipino and English. In July of 2020, she was the Grand Prize winner of YG Entertainment’s song cover contest where she performed an English version of “Wayo” by Bang Ye-dam of K-Pop group Treasure. That October, Ysabelle’s cover of “Boy With Luv” was featured on Glamour’s "You Sang My Song" series, featuring positive reactions from original artist and K-pop megastars BTS themselves. Ysabelle has since shifted her focus to her original music, and is currently in the studio writing and recording her next big release.

Marco Lui

Marco Lui, also known by his stage name "Mr. Lui," is an Italian mime and comedian born on July 18, 1975, in Milan. With a degree in Physical Education from the University of Verona, Lui began his career as a cabaret artist and Michael Jackson imitator before making his mark in television. His unique comedy style, inspired by classic silent film humor, led to appearances on Mediaset programs like Beato fra le donne, and his signature character, Mr. Lui, became popular on Italia 1, drawing comparisons to Mr. Bean.

Beyond television, Lui has built a diverse career in film production and direction, with notable works like The Book of Life (2010) and Dr. Smith and the Fantastic Castle (2012). As a longtime collaborator with Italian entertainer Fiorello, Lui directed and edited numerous backstage pieces for Fiorello's shows, blending his comedic vision with technical skill. An active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served as a missionary in the South of Italy and has also participated in cultural projects tied to the church. Today, he continues to engage with Italian media as the presenter for the Zecchino d’Oro selections, where he also contributes his talents as a comedian and voice actor, bringing his signature humor and charisma to the show.

Los Chicaneros

We are Los Chicaneros, an ordinary family who wants to share, through humor, various situations that most families experience.

Today, we want to tell you a little bit about our story. We met 36 years ago, and next December, we will celebrate 32 years of marriage. Our family consists of Nelson (the father), Cristina (the mother), Nicolás (the eldest son), and María Antonia (the youngest daughter).

We met at a diving club in Cali, Colombia. We share a love for nature and sports; we fell in love there and decided to join our lives forever because we share the same ideal.

When we got married, we were fully committed to starting a family because we believe it is the place where we can raise our children in an environment of love, values, respect, and honesty, among others. Our main goal has always been our children, doing everything possible to give them everything they need in every aspect and to stay united.

It has been a difficult path, full of sacrifices, but always filled with love, hope, and joy. Although we are not perfect, we have always been clear that we are meant for each other and that, thanks to our great love, we have managed to overcome all the trials that life has thrown our way.

Our obligations as parents were to provide our children with proper education, housing, food, and health. Due to job instability, we were forced to move to many places over the last 20 years. At first, it wasn't too complicated because they were children whom we could take from one place to another, but as they grew older, it became more challenging to stay together. So, Nicolás studied in Colombia for both school and university, and Antonia studied part of her school in Colombia, part in Honduras, and completed her university studies in Honduras, while the parents lived between Nicaragua and Honduras, as we found job stability in these countries.

Registration is now open. You can register for online viewing for free or get a ticket to attend in person. The keynotes that are out of the United States will be broadcasting from their own country. You can also see the schedule of all the in person and online classes here:  https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/schedule?day=2025-03-06

 

Telling my story with MyStories

When I heard about MyHetitage.com's new MyStories.com website and had a chance to review the website, I was impressed by its straightforward simplicity. The concept is that, after registering, you would receive one question a week for a year and at the end of the year all your answers and photos would be put in a nice hardbound book. As a test of the website before it went fully online, I submitted some stories and photos and received back a bound book. Here is a short video of my experience in opening the package.

https://youtu.be/1ZUBvYzcBnw?si=U8wIX4XywzGSfDOI

You might be able to guess my age from this video but I don't usually get too animated about anything but I do like the book and the process. In fact, I was given an account by MyHeritage and I intend to use it during the coming year. Just so you know the gift of the one year account was given after I produced the video. 

The 5 most challenging issues with the FamilySearch Family Tree

 

The FamilySearch.org Family Tree is a free, collaborative, wiki-based, universal, family tree. The Family Tree was introduced in 2013 at the RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. I have been actively using the Family Tree since the day it was introduced. The Family Tree has evolved over the years and I am sure that those who developed and demonstrated the Family Tree back in 2013 would be astounded at the changes. However, some of the inherent and blatant issues of the Family Tree at the time of the introduction are still with us. 

I have written about all these issues many times over the years and I have to admit that significant progress has been made on minimizing the impact of some of these issues with the Family Tree but there is still a long uphill climb to resolve these 5 core issues with the Family Tree. As I go through the issues once again, I will note if there is a partial solution in the works if that information is available. In addition, I will give examples with ID numbers so you can see for yourself what I am writing about. 

1. Revolving Door Ancestors

This is the most damaging and wasteful challenge of them all. A revolving door ancestor is one whose information is constantly changing. Here is one of the most egregious examples for a Mayflower Passenger, Francis Cooke LZ2F-MM7. 

Note the dates of the changes and if you look at this list, you will see there have been hundreds or perhaps more than a thousand changes that go on almost every day. This person, as a member of the Mayflower Passengers, has been researched for about a hundred years and there is no new information that can or should be shared with the Family Tree. All the known information is contained in the Mayflower Society Silver Books and there is no conceivable reason for all these changes. Think of the monumental amount of time that has been wasted on this and other revolving door ancestors. Those people in this revolving door category include almost all those born in New England since 1630 to about 1750 AD. These people are being extensively documented by the Great Migration Study Project from the New England Historic Genealogical Society. 

Why does FamilySearch allow this constant changing to people who are exhaustively researched?

2. Impossible Pedigrees

 The Family Tree is a source-centric tree. This means that every entry in the Family Tree should and eventually must be supported by specific historical records. So, if people are entered into the Family Tree with NO sources, adding parents and additional generations of ancestors would be nothing less that a fabrication, a counterfeit, and another massive waste of time. 

Here is one example from the Family Tree.

This person has ancestors listed back to, at least, 1045 and probably further on some lines. Because Edward Morgan does not have any sources, there is no way to know if this is the right person. To add insult to injury, Edward's father John Morgan MG6J-9NX was supposedly born in Wales and some of the sources attached are for people with the same name born in England and Virginia. 

3.  Addition of GEDCOM files

A GEDCOM file is a way of transferring information from one genealogy program to another. The acronym stands for Genealogical Data Communications. See https://gedcom.io/  GEDCOM is not a "program" or an "app." It is a standard for exchanging data. 

The FamilySearch.org Family Tree is a universal tree. When someone build a family tree (pedigree) on another program or app and if the person building the pedigree has ancestors from North America or Europe, there is a significant chance that all or part of the family tree created on a website other than the Family Tree, will already be on the Family Tree. This means that the research effort expended was a waste of time. Genealogical researchers can easily avoid this problem by doing searches on the Family Tree. 

What is a disaster is when some uploads a GEDCOM file to the FamilySearch Family Tree. From what I said about doing research is turned into creating a huge number of duplicate entries on the Family Tree. Uploaded GEDCOM files should not be allowed to a family tree open to a community such as the FamilySearch.org Family Tree. 

4. Adding People who lived before 1500 A.D.

Very few people anywhere in the world are qualified to do new and accurate historical research before 1500 A.D. This limitation goes for genealogists also. There are exceptions such as Chinese Family Books  but Europe does not have the equivalent of these records. The main limitation for European research before 1500 is that the handwriting and language both require specialized learning. The pre-1500 family lines added to the FamilySearch Family Tree always make the unsupported assumption that the poor people being researched somehow magically descend from royalty or nobility. Here is an example of an entry from one of my own ancestral lines on the Family Tree. 

None of these people show any sources for the entries. The entries are nothing more than names. If I look at the entries either from the last person in this line who has any sources attached or step back from these people to some place of reality, I find a person named Elizabeth Jones MG6J-9N1 who was supposedly born in Essex England and died in New Haven Connecticut. 

 Her father's name is John Joseph Snider G9WF-DW6 who supposedly was born in Wales and died in Wales. His wife, Elizabeth Bodenham G9WF-6RY was born in Gloucestershire. I won't go any further with these examples except to say how did Elizabeth Jones fit into the family of Snider and Bodeham?

The FamilySearch Family tree has thousands if not millions of similar entries with no sources telling us how these people could have had children in America? There always seems to be a justification based on an assumption that the child was illegitimate. 

5. Adding a large number of children to a family by surname without supporting sources. 

Here is a family that is an excellent example of this challenge. 

The children are listed as being born in North Carolina, South Carolina, Unknown, and Kentucky (before it was a state),  Who was John Sanderson who shows up in the 1790 US Census in Jones, North Carolina and how did he have children in all these places. Time to do a lot more research. 

Of course, there are a lot of other minor issues with the Family Tree but over all it does a good job of giving us a place to start doing a lot more learning and hard research work. A simple way to clear up almost all the issues with the Family Tree without impacting its integrity is to require real sources showing a parent child relationship for every entry.

Introducing the Theme for RootsTech 2025

 

RootsTech.org

Quoting from an email, 

This year’s theme is "discover," a single word that communicates endless possibilities and inspirational experiences for those who participate.'

Be part of the world’s largest family history celebration, March 6–8, 2025.

• Discover your story
• Discover your connections
• Discover you!

The class schedule for RootsTech 2024 is now available. See The 2025 Schedule.  I have a live webinar class scheduled for 8:00 AM on the first day of the conference that will be online live as a webinar and also open to people coming in person. What I don't know yet is where the class will be held. Oh well, if I find out, I will post the location. I am used to giving classes and webinars while talking to my computer so I don't think this opportunity will be much different. Oh, the name of the class is "Opening the Door to Latin American Genealogical Research with Full-text Searches."

Go to RootsTech.org to get a free online registration or a paid in-person registration. 

Newcomer Storied.com Announces Acquisition of AI Innovator Memory-Lane.ai

 

https://storied.com/

Storied.com is announcing its strategic acquisition of Memory-Lane.ai, an artificial intelligence company known for its advanced memory capture technologies. 

Quoting from the mailed announcement:

“What an exciting way to celebrate the two-year anniversary of Storied.com’s launch. This acquisition amplifies our commitment towards enhancing personal storytelling experiences through AI technology,” said Kendall Hulet, CEO of Storied. “Memory Lane’s innovative solutions will allow us to not only improve Storied’s capabilities but also significantly improve how users interact with their cherished memories and build their family trees.”

“We are excited to advance family history and storytelling by using AI technology to make it easier and more affordable to use. As AI reshapes family history in the coming years, we’re committed to expanding its reach while offering Storied at an affordable price—less than $20 per year—for AI-assisted research, storytelling, and historical content.”

 

https://www.memory-lane.ai/

MyHeritage now has 32 billion historical records

 A Historic Milestone: 32 Billion Historical Records Now Available On MyHeritage.com

Quoting from a recent blog post.

Last month we announced the release of the first 4 collections of Names & Stories, extracted from historical newspapers on OldNews.com using advanced AI technology. At the time, we shared that these collections were part of a groundbreaking project to add billions of new records to MyHeritage’s historical record database.

Today, we are delighted to share that the project is complete! All 15 collections have now been published, bringing the total number of Names & Stories records added to 11.6 billion. The collections span all 50 U.S. states, as well as Canada, Australia, and the U.K. This momentous achievement increases MyHeritage’s total historical record count to a massive 32 billion records.

Additions to a newspaper database fall into the category of more is better. The large number of records added increases the possibility that your search will find valuable information. This is especially true if you have a data level subscription and a family tree on MyHeritage.com because you will get Record Matches to new articles. OldNews.com is available for a subscription price of $99 a year. Here is an example of a news page containing information about some of my relatives and ancestors. 

See Introducing OldNews.com, A New Website for Exploring Historical Newspapers for more information. 

FamilySearch 2024 Year in Review

 FamilySearch.org

I realize we are getting well into 2025, but I am always fascinated by what happened in the past year. FamilySearch.org had a banner year and from my standpoint, more than I can quickly learn about is coming in 2025. I do, however, have a few comments about the numbers for 2024. 

All this comes from an email sent to me on December 30, 2024. Here is the opening quote:

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH—Join FamilySearch, the world’s largest nonprofit genealogy organization, in looking back at 2024 to recap some of its most notable highlights. FamilySearch celebrated its 130th anniversary as an organization in 2024, and the 25th anniversary of its popular website, FamilySearch.org. Millions of visitors made fun new ancestor discoveries during the year thanks to advancements in FamilySearch’s artificial intelligence, new historical records collections, and RootsTech by FamilySearch, which continued its global reach in helping individuals make new family connections.

FamilySearch enjoyed more than 285 million visits from across the planet in 2024. Patrons frequented FamilySearch’s growing record collections, interactive discovery experiences like Surnames and Ancestors, and helpful articles on the FamilySearch Wiki and Blog.

I am sure you are wondering how FamilySearch can claim to be 130 years old. The answer is very simple. FamilySearch is a trade name for The Genealogical Society of Utah. I have no doubt that the number of visits is accurate since I usually login to the FamilySearch.org website several times a day. 

The next section talks about the number of records using the measurement of searchable names. 

This is an interesting claim. FamilySearch currently has at least 5 different places on their website where you can search for names. The spectrum is from name searches, catalog searches, and page by page searches on digital images. If I have time, I will comment on this situation in the near future. The number of 20.5+ searchable names and images is probably a low estimate. 

The next subject is the FamilySearch Family Tree. 

The number of people in the FamilySearch Family Tree has to be adjusted for duplicates and some of us are painfully aware that there are still a huge number of duplicate names in the Family Tree. I also wonder is the number of sources is unique sources or simply a total of all the sources attached to all the people that would include multiple copies of the same source. 

Here is another quote. 

The world’s largest online family tree grew by more than 150 million people in 2024, totaling 1.67 billion searchable people. Contributors also added 530 million sources to their ancestors in the tree—which helps increase accuracy and collaboration. In addition, three new user features were added to the FamilySearch Family Tree:

Merge Analysis Feature simplifies the ability to review and correct merges, and you can better understand the “before and after” of each merge.

Portrait Pedigree View Update allows you to view siblings, a single-family line, and multiple family lines at the same time; add relatives quickly without leaving the page; and distinguish living individuals more easily.

3 Star Record Hints introduce a broader range of record considerations for experienced researchers to explore.

 There is a lot more to talk about but I will leave the rest for other posts on other days.