Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 13 to 19 May 2026

 Welcome to Genealogy News Bytes, posted on Tuesday afternoon for the past week, where we try to highlight the most important genealogy and family history news  items that came across our desktop since the last issue.    

1)  Genealogy and Family History News Articles:

*  Ancestry Terms of Service Changes 2026: What Every Genealogist and DNA Tester Needs to Know (Effective May 12, 2026)

*  Family Tree magazine launches new website

*  Newspaper Finder: A New Tool for Searching Old Newspapers (Review and Tutorial)

*  Exploring Historical Newspapers with Newspaper Finder – An Interview with Mitchell Lewis and Matt Wheeler

*  Where Was Your Midwest German Ancestor’s Place of Birth? Tips from an Expert

*  RootsTech 2027 Call for Presentations Is Open — Here’s Everything You Need to Know

*  How the 1876 Centennial Exposition Shaped the American Dream and Immigration

*  How the Air Commerce Act Shaped Modern Travel 100 Years Ago

*  Incredible Bravery: African American Medal of Honor Recipients (part 1)

*   What Your Ancestors’ Surname Reveals About Their Heritage and Origins

*  New England Dark Day 1780: When Noon Turned to Night

*  A Surprising Genealogical Resource: The BYU Library Family History Center YouTube Channel

*  19 Family History Activities That Bring You Closer Together

*  Occupations in Family History: Job Adverts in British Newspapers of 1926

2)  DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy

*  The World’s Largest mtDNA Haplotree

*  Ancient DNA and 23andMe Are Rewriting the Story of Some of America’s Earliest Colonists

*  The Genetics of Asthma and Allergies: More Than a Decade of 23andMe Research

*  I Took a DNA Test to Find Long-Lost Relatives in America. I Found a Sister Instead

3)  Genealogy Book/Magazine Notices and Reviews:

*  Ultimate Guide Explains “Other Family Member” Trick for Finding Ancestors

*  Book Explains and Celebrates 250th Anniversary of Quest for Independence

*  Happy Book Birthday: The Immigrant and the Outlaw!

4)  New or Updated Genealogy Digital Record Collections:

*  Added and Updated Ancestry.com Record Collections - Week of  9 to 15 May 2026

*  Ancestry New and Updated Collections – May 1-15, 2026

*  Added and Updated FamilySearch Record Collections - Week of 9 to 15 May 2026 

*  FamilySearch New and Updated Collections – May 1-15, 2026

*  Added and Updated MyHeritage Record Collections - Week of 8 to 14 May 2026

*  MyHeritage New and Updated Collections – May 1-15, 2026

*  Findmypast Friday: Explore Irish Stories In Vivid Detail

*  Historic Devon Records Go Online for the First Time, Revealing Life Before WWI

*  New Korean War Era Draft Cards on Fold3!

5)  Did you miss the last post in this series?  See Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 6 to 12 May 2026.

Read all recent Genealogy News Bytes posts here.  

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/05/genealogy-news-bytes-week-of-13-to-19.html

Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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Randy's Genealogy Pot-Pourri - Week Ending 17 May 2026

 Here are the highlights of my family history and genealogy related activities over the past week (ending Sunday, 17 May 2026). 

1)  Hosted and moderated the Chula Vista Genealogical Society (CVGS) Research Group Meeting on Wednesday.  We discussed MyHeritage's Family infographics and Tribute Reel features, the 1926 Irish census, new Terms of Service on Ancestry and MyHeritage, several Family Tree Magazine articles, two new book offerings, the Library of Congress, SDGS education classes, and a review of FamilySearch features.

2)  Attended the San Diego Genealogical Society (SDGS) British Isles Group with Colin Whitney and the AI for Genealogy Group with Doug Shaw on Saturdays.

3)  Was a panelist on Mondays With Myrt on Monday.  We discussed the 1926 Irish census, Robin Stewart and Internet Archive, Barbra Tien and Stories250, and the MyHeritage new features.

4)  Curated genealogy-related articles to keep myself and my readers updated on the genealogy world in:

• Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 6 to 12 May 2026
• Genealogy Education Bytes - Week of 7 to 13 May 2026
• Best of the Genea-Blogs - Week of 10 to 16 May 2026
• Listed new and updated record collections for MyHeritage, Findmypast, Ancestry.com, and FamilySearch.

5)  Transcribed a land deed for John Underhill with help from FamilySearch Full-Text Search in Amanuensis Monday -- 1784 Deed of John Underhill and John Underhill Jr. Buying Land in Rockingham County, New Hampshire From Peter Wells.

6)  Wrote one ABC Biography and one Life Memoir, and posted them on Genea-Musings and   Substack:

• ABC Biography of Amos Plimpton and Mary Guild of Massachusetts (1735-1808)
  
  
  
  
  
• Life Memoir of Henry Austin Carringer (1853-1946) of Pennsylvania, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas and California, As Told To His Granddaughter in 1945

7)  Requested free AI tools to tell me about these genealogy and family history subjects, and posted them on Genea-Musings and Substack: 

• Ask AI: "Describe Abigail (Gates) (Seaver) Seaver's Life in 1847 in Westminster, Massachusetts"
• Ask AI: "Describe the Preservation of Food in the 1830s in New England"
• Ask AI: "Describe Life In the Daniel Spangler Family in 1835 in Mercer County, Pennsylvania"
• Ask AI: "Describe the Courtship of Alexander and Rachel (Morley) Whittle in Lancashire in the Late 1830s" (Parts 1 and 2)

8)  Wrote an AI-assisted short story about my parents lives and romance on Genea-Musings and Substack:

• Betty and Fred’s Story: Building a Life Together – Christmas Day 1943

9)  Wrote an AI-assisted short story about my grandparents lives and romance on Genea-Musings and Substack:

• Emily and Lyle’s Story: Letters From Boot Camp – Part 2, May-June 1917

10)  Updated my Randy's AI and Genealogy page. Added a number of the recent Google NotebookLM Videos and Slide Shows to my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@RandySeaver. 

11)  Searched for more records of ancestral families on Ancestry, FamilySearch and MyHeritage, downloaded record images to my digital file folders, and added research notes, events and sources to RootsMagic profiles.  My RootsMagic family tree now has 75,048 profiles (up 0 from last week)  and 148,023 source citations (up 1).  

12)  My AncestryDNA test now has 51,823 DNA matches (up 30 from 10 May) with 2,195 "close" matches (20 cM or more) today (up 1), with no new ThruLines.  Added Notes to no Matches, and added no new DNA match lines to RootsMagic. MyHeritageDNA test now has 14,460 DNA matches (up 18 from 10 May) for me. 

13) Wrote 21 Genea-Musings blog posts last week (Sunday through Saturday), of which one was a press release. The most viewed post last week was Betty and Fred's Story: Building a Life Together -- December 1943 with  over 385 views.  Genea-Musings had about 463,000 page views last week and over 2,688,000 views over the past month (lots of bots I think). 

14)  Real life events:  Visited Linda several days this past week at her memory care facility.  Went to the grocery store on Monday and Friday. Finished reading The Waiting by Michael Connelly and started . Woman of God by James Patterson. Watched the Padres games - they were 4-2 this past week and are 28-18 on the season.  

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The URL for this post is:   https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/05/randys-genealogy-pot-pourri-week-ending_01439006068.html

Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Please note that all comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. 

Subscribe to receive a free daily email from Genea-Musings using www.Blogtrottr.com. 

Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 6 to 12 May 2026

 Welcome to Genealogy News Bytes, posted on Tuesday afternoon for the past week, where we try to highlight the most important genealogy and family history news  items that came across our desktop since the last issue.    

1)  Genealogy and Family History News Articles:

*  Introducing Tribute Reel: Turn a loved one’s photos into a heartfelt video [MyHeritage]

*  Introducing Family Infographics: Turn a Loved One’s Life Story into a Beautiful Work of Art [MyHeritage]

*  CNN Original Series “This Land” Premieres Sunday, June 7 at 9pm ET/PT

*  Limitations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Genealogical Research

*  Your Family Tree Deserves a Deal: 30% Off for AARP Members & 20% Off for Military

*  Hawaii’s Surprising Role in the American Civil War

*  May 29, 1914: The Sinking of the Empress of Ireland

*  Discover Your British Ancestors’ WWII Stories for VE Day

*  How to Use Passenger Lists and Ship Manifests for Genealogy Research

2)  DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy

*  Eighty Years to a Name: How an mtDNA Project Helped Identify the Unknown Sailor of HMAS Sydney (II)

3)  Genealogy Book/Magazine Notices and Reviews:

*  Book Review: The First 24 Hours of the American Revolution

*  Book Review: Ancestoring: Understanding Records, Family, and Ourselves by Darcie Hind Posz

4)  New or Updated Genealogy Digital Record Collections:

*  Added and Updated Ancestry.com Record Collections - Week of  2 to 8 May 2026

*  New Record Collections Added in April, Plus Collections Updates [Ancestry.com]

*  Added and Updated FamilySearch Record Collections - Week of 2 to 8 May 2026 

*  New Free Historical Records from 27 Countries | May 2026 Update [FamilySearch]

*  Added and Updated MyHeritage Record Collections - Week of 1 to 7 May 2026

*  Findmypast Friday: Explore New Additions from Ireland and Guernsey

*  New Database—New Jersey and Pennsylvania: Slave Birth Records, 1788-1839

5)  Did you miss the last post in this series?  See Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 22 to 29 April to 5 May 2026.

Read all recent Genealogy News Bytes posts here.  

                          =========================================

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/05/genealogy-news-bytes-week-of-6-to-12.html

Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

Subscribe to receive a free daily email from Genea-Musings using www.Blogtrottr.com.

Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 29 April to 5 May 2026

Welcome to Genealogy News Bytes, posted on Tuesday afternoon for the past week, where we try to highlight the most important genealogy and family history news  items that came across our desktop since the last issue.    

1)  Genealogy and Family History News Articles:

*  New Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) website launched

*  Mother's Day and Genealogy ... Pretty Sales on DNA and Vivid-Pix!

*  Canadian Dual Citizenship: Who Qualifies Under Bill C-3?

*  Searching the Daughters of the American Revolution Databases

*  Understanding Reclaim the Records – An Interview with Brooke Schreier-Ganz and Alec Ferretti

*  Philadelphia finalizes new ancestry agreement allowing millions of Philadelphia historical records online

*  What Census 1926 reveals about lives of children 100 years ago

*  National Scrapbook Day: How Genealogists Can Preserve Old Scrapbooks and Create New Family History Keepsakes

*  Moving Day NYC: The May 1st Chaos That Could Unlock Your Family History

*  An Eccentric Tycoon Left a Fortune to the Winner of a Baby-Making Contest. The Great Stork Derby Divided Canadians During the Great Depression

*  Cornish Miners Brought Genes to Grass Valley

2)  DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy

*  Ancient Connections: Where Archaeology Meets Your Ancestors

*  FBI Faces Dead Ends in Nancy Guthrie Case as 84-Year-Old’s Disappearance Enters Third Month 

*  Silsbee Police Department and Texas Rangers Team with Othram to Solve the 1988 Murder of Caroline Bolen

3)  Genealogy Book/Magazine Notices and Reviews:

*  Live Book Walkthrough: Colonial Pennsylvania Genealogy Research

*  The National Archives Has More Free Records Than You Think. Here’s Your Guide.

4)  Genealogy Apps and Software

*  Ancestry API Update: What RootsMagic Users Need to Do Now

5)  New or Updated Genealogy Digital Record Collections:

*  Added and Updated Ancestry.com Record Collections - Week of  25 April to 1 May 2026

*  Ancestry New and Updated Collections – April 1-30, 2026

*  Added and Updated FamilySearch Record Collections - Week of 25 April to 1 May 2026 

*  FamilySearch New and Updated Collections – April 1-30, 2026

*  Added and Updated MyHeritage Record Collections - Week of 24 to 30 April 2026

*  MyHeritage Adds 146 Million Historical Records in April 2026 In April 2026

*  MyHeritage New and Updated Collections – April 1-30, 2026

*  Findmypast Friday: Browse Burials From Across England and Wales

*  Find My Past Adds/Updates 60 Historical Newspaper Titles – April 2026

*  TheGenealogist makes parish records accessible via its MapExplorer tool

*  May 2026 Addition: GenealogyBank Just Added New Content from 14 Titles!

*  British Newspaper Archive Adds/Updates 65 Titles – April 2026

*  Chronicling America Updates – April 2026

*  Newspapers dot Com Update – April 2026

*  Veridian Adds/Updates 103 Titles – May 2026

*  19,000 United States High Schools and Colleges with Free Online Yearbooks

6)  Did you miss the last post in this series?  See Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 22 to 28 April 2026.

Read all recent Genealogy News Bytes posts here.  

                          =========================================

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/05/genealogy-news-bytes-week-of-29-april.html

Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

Subscribe to receive a free daily email from Genea-Musings using www.Blogtrottr.com.

Randy's Genealogy Pot-Pourri - Week Ending 3 May 2026

 Here are the highlights of my family history and genealogy related activities over the past week (ending Sunday, 3 May 2026). 

1)  Attended the Chula Vista Genealogical Society (CVGS) General Meeting on Wednesday with Thomas MacEntee presenting "The 15 Habits of Frugal Genealogists."  

2)  Attended the San Diego Genealogical Society (SDGS) DNA Interest Group meeting on Saturday with Kathy Fernandes discussing "Genetic Networks."

3)  Patricipated in the Monday, 27 April Mondays With Myrt program. We discussed the Association of Genealogy Educatiors and Schools (AGES), my ABC Biography process, and using software to write a genealogical proof statement/argument, etc. 

4)  Curated genealogy-related articles to keep myself and my readers updated on the genealogy world in:

• Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 22 to 28 April 2026
• Genealogy Education Bytes - Week of 23 to 29 April 2026
• Best of the Genea-Blogs - Week of 26 April to 2 May 2026
• Listed new and updated record collections for Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, Findmypast and FamilySearch.

5)  Found a number of land deeds for John Underhill on FamilySearch Full-Text Search, and transcribed a land record in Amanuensis Monday -- 1801 Deed of John Underhill Buying Land in Cheshire County, New Hampshire From Nathaniel Garland.

6)  Researched and wrote  Genealogical Sketch of the John Underhill (1745-1816) and Hannah Colby (1750-1793) Family of Chester and Plainfield, New Hampshire.

7)  Wrote one ABC Biography and one Life Memoir, and posted them on Genea-Musings and   Substack:

• ABC Biography of the John and Hannah (Colby) Underhill Family of New Hampshire (1745-1816)
  
• Life Memoir of Elling Eriksen Natvig (1820-1896) of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin in 1895

8)  Requested free AI tools to tell me about these genealogy and family history subjects, and posted them on Genea-Musings and Substack: 

• Ask AI: "Describe the Life of the Isaac Seaver Family In Leominster, Mass. in 1873" -- Part 1
  
• Ask AI: The U.S. Marine Reserves and Lyle Carringer's Service in 1917-1919
• Ask AI: "Describe Della Smith's Life At Age 14 in 1876 in Kansas"
• Ask AI: "Describe the Life of the David Jackson Carringer Family in 1886 in Boulder, Colorado

9)  Wrote an AI-assisted short story about my parents lives and romance on Genea-Musings and Substack:

• Betty and Fred’s Story: Thanksgiving 1943

10)  Wrote an AI-assisted short story about my grandparents lives and romance on Genea-Musings and Substack:

• Emily and Lyle’s Story: The Promise Made

11)  Updated my Randy's AI and Genealogy page. Added a number of the recent Google NotebookLM Videos and Slide Shows to my YouTube channel at   https://www.youtube.com/@RandySeaver. 

12)  Searched for more records of ancestral families on Ancestry, FamilySearch and MyHeritage, downloaded record images to my digital file folders, and added research notes, events and sources to RootsMagic profiles.  My RootsMagic family tree now has 75,032 profiles (up 5 from last week)  and 148,005 source citations (up 9).  Added some land deeds and biographies to some profiles in RootsMagic from Genea-Musings posts.

13)  My AncestryDNA test now has 51,726 DNA matches (up 47 from 26 April) with 2,193 "close" matches (20 cM or more) today (up 2), with 4 new ThruLines.  Added Notes to no Matches, and added no new DNA match lines to RootsMagic. MyHeritageDNA test now has 14,435 DNA matches (up 35 from 26 April) for me. 

14) Wrote 22 Genea-Musings blog posts last week (Sunday through Saturday), of which two were a press release. The most viewed post last week was Life Memoir of Elling Eriksen Natvig (1820-1896) of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin in 1895 with  over 293 views.  Genea-Musings had about 827,000 page views last week and over 2,725,000 views over the past month (lots of bots I think). 

15)  Real life events:  Visited Linda several days this past week at her memory care facility.  Went to the grocery store on Monday and Friday. Went to the church Men's Group Bible Study breakfast on Saturday. Finished reading The Confession by John Grisham, and started The Waiting by Michael Connelly.  Watched the Padres games - they were 2-4 this past week and are 20-13 on the season.  

                           =============================================

The URL for this post is:   https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/05/randys-genealogy-pot-pourri-week-ending.html

Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Please note that all comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. 

Subscribe to receive a free daily email from Genea-Musings using www.Blogtrottr.com.