Welcoming 2025 and a Look Back on 2024

Welcome 2025 (Image created by CoPilot)

It's 2025! 2024 was an incredible year for genealogy with billions of new records being added and new technology being introduced. Let's take a look at some of the important events of 2024 and some of the things you can do in 2025.

First, let's look at a few opportunities to win some things in the new year.

• CivilWarRecords.com is giving away some prizes including a complete set of Civil War records from the National Archives (pension file, compiled military service records, and any carded medical records) as well as a free Civil War pension file from the National Archives, digitized and delivered to you. You can enter the drawing here.
• RootsTech 2025 media representatives are giving away tickets to RootsTech. You can enter these giveaways by visiting my blog post and clicking on each contest.

Here are some of the highlights from some of the major genealogy companies:

FamilySearch

FamilySearch celebrated their 130th year as an organization and their 25th year of the website. I remember being a beta tester in the original FamilySearch website as well as the "new" FamilySearch website and being interviewed by the developers to see what was working and what needed to be improved. Over the years I have participated on several FamilySearch focus groups to help test and improve the website.

During 2024, there were over 285 million visits to the FamilySearch website. There are now records from more than 170 countries and principalities and more than 2.5 billion new searchable records and images were added in 2024. They now have more than 20.5 billion records available online. The African Oral Genealogies continues to grow as more of the collection are added and indexed.

More than 150 million individuals and 530 million sources were added to the Family Tree in 2024. That means there are now over 1.67 billion people in the tree with over 3.4 billion sources.

More than 45,000 new books were added to the book collection which means you now have access to over 630,000 digital books from various libraries and collections.

324 new FamilySearch Centers were opened in 2024, bringing the total number to over 6,500 locations worldwide. Some of these new centers are affiliate libraries within your communities.

Several new user features were added in 2024. The Merge Analysis tool provides an enhanced ability to review and correct merges. The 3-Star Record Hints introduced a broader range of record hints for experienced researchers. The Portrait Pedigree View update made it easier to navigate and add individuals to the tree.  

FamilySearch Labs added several projects including Family Group Trees, AI Search, and others. The  new Full Text Search powered by AI indexing has been especially helpful. The Full Text Search provides enhanced access to a variety of new records including court, probate, land, and newspapers collections, all of which were indexed by AI. I also especially like the Data Quality Score project which provides guidance on the quality of the profile, sources, and where additional work needs to be done.

RootsTech 2024 had more than 4 million participants attending online and in person from 232 countries and territories and more than 500,000 people participated in the Relatives at RootsTech app.

Indexing has also increased with the introduction of FamilySearch's Get Involved app. The app helps people do indexing quickly and easily anywhere. 

More information on these can be found at https://www.familysearch.org/campaign/year-in-review and https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/familysearch-year-in-review-2024. 

MyHeritage

In addition to celebrating their 20th birthday in 2024, MyHeritage had some significant new developments. One of those was the release of OldNews.com. This newspaper collection has over 317 million pages with 11.9 billion individual searchable records. They also released the LiveMemory app which uses AI to animate photographs to create 5-second video clips. 

MyHeritage had some cosmetic improvements with their profile pages as well as Theory of Family  Relativity updates. 

MyHeritage also partnered with FamilyTreeDNA and acquired MesAieux.com to provide users access to more resources in their research.

For a limited time, MyHeritage has their DNA kits on sale for $36 with free shipping when you buy 2 or more kits. Their DNA database now has over 8.9 million kits with a large number of those being European. You can order their kits at https://www.myheritage.com/dna.

More information on what MyHeritage did in 2024 can be found on their blog https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/01/wrapping-up-2024-myheritage-year-in-review.

Ancestry

In addition to an increased number of records, Ancestry had some major DNA updates during 2024. They increased the number and  accuracy of their Ancestral Subregions, providing users with more precise locations based on their DNA. They also provided a more detailed parentage analysis to show which DNA came from each parent. Additionally, Pro Tools were introduced as an additional subscription. Pro Tools has enhanced tools such as enhanced DNA Shared Matches, Consistency Checker, Check Facts, and additional charts and reports. All of these tools increase your ability to improve your research.

What is coming in 2025? I am sure there will be some major news at RootsTech.

I hope you have a great 2025 and are able to break through some of your brick walls with all of the new research tools that have been released.

Current Events: Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, RootsTech and MyHeritage Announcements

Good morning all. Christmas is only 18 days away and 2025 is coming fast. Have you finished your family history? Just kidding. I know that there is always more to be added, more details, more people, more records to find, and more connections to make. I hope that your year has been productive.

There are so many things going on at this time in genealogy that it is hard to keep up with all the news. So, here are a few that I thought were important.

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, commemorating the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, causing the United States to formally enter World War II. Back in 2021-2022 I posted several blog posts about connections I had with people who fought in World War II. One of these was the story of John A. Smith (1922-1941), who was stationed on the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor. Unfortunatety, he was one of the many casualties that day.

I also posted stories about the following individuals:

• Henry Francis Raterman (1917-1943)
• Edward Frederick Gaier (1918-1944)
• George Ellis Schloss (1918-1943)
• Edward Henry Holscher (1918-1943)
• Clifford August Schmiesing (1905-1944)
• Omer William Lammers (1920-1945)

Doing the research on these individuals was enlightening and it was sobering to see the sacrifices they made along with their families to keep the world free from tyranny. I hope you take some time to read their stories and maybe think about documenting a few of your family members' sacrifices during this time of remembrance.

RootsTech Update

Of course I wouldn't be doing my job as a RootsTech Media Representative if I didn't put in a plug for the upcoming conference (March 6-8, 2025). You can see my previous posts for opportunities to win a free 3-day RootsTech ticket, valued ay $129. 

RootsTech also announced a few of their keynote speakers. These speakers come from many areas across the globe so they may not be familiar to you but they are well known in their countries.

• Ndaba Mandela - Ndaba is the grandson of Nelson Mandela and a renowned author, speaker, and social activist.
• Dana Tanamachi - Dana is a world-renowned artist and has contributed to the covers of O Magazine and Time Magazine. 
• Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall - Tara is an Olympic Gold medalist and her husband Hunter is a Paralympic Gold medalist.

Keep watching for future announcements of additional keynote speakers.

MyHeritage Update

MyHeritage had a couple recent announcements. This week they announced that they had extracted 3.8 billion records from their historical newspaper collection on OldNews.com. The collections contain 658 million records from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi; 998 million records from Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Nebraska; 1 billion records from Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania; and 651 million records from North Carolina, South Carolina, and District of Columbia. OldNews.com now hosts more than 300 million newsapper pages. MyHeritage expects to add more than 10 billion new records to their historical database this month.

You may be wondering how they can add so many new records in such a short time. Well, they are using cutting edge AI technology to extract information from nearly 200 million English newspaper pages. This allows researchers to search by imprecise metholds including nicknames and synonyms. This AI technology extracts not just the names of the individual but also every person mentioned in the article as well as fields such as occupations, residence, travel, and more.

You can read more about this news on their blog.

MyHeritage also recently released their LiveMemory(TM) application. This application can animate your photographs and create a 5-second video. I posted information about this on a previous blog post last month. Click here to view that post.

I hope everyone is able to take time with your families during this holiday season and build those relationships as well as discover more about your ancestors. I will continue to post new information as I have time and I hope to see many of you at RootsTech!

RootsTech 2025 Update

Hello everyone. I am sure that you are all looking forward to the various holidays coming up in the next couple weeks. Those are great opportunities to talk with family, reminisce about old times, and gather more genealogy information.

As you probably already know it is that time of year again when I begin posting more frequently about RootsTech. I am part of the media team, a speaker, and will be working at a couple booths in the Expo Hall on March 6-8, 2025. It is a busy time. Between now and then I will have several posts about RootsTech encouraging you to participate either in person or virtually.

RootsTech registration has been open for several weeks and the current price for a 3-day ticket is $129. It is $79 for 1-day tickets. Online participation is free. However, for the next 10 days (November 25 - December 5) there is a Black Friday sale and ticket prices are reduced. So, get over there and buy your tickets while you can.

Remember that you can win a free 3-day ticket. Click on the links below to enter the RootsTech Ticket Giveaway contest. Each of us are giving away two tickets. 

• Miles Meyer - https://forms.gle/MzV6Esz9cA4vw4Pt8
• Aimee Cross - https://ancestryaimee.com/rootstech_giveaway  
• Aimee is also providing a free handout "10 Tips for a Better RootsTech Experience"
• Carolina Girl Genealogy - Carolina Girl Genealogy: Win a Free Ticket to RootsTech 2025!
• You can find these Giveaways and others at Conference Keepers.

The list of RootsTech classes is currently available. There are over 270 classes for all level and interests. Begin exploring the list to see which classes you want to see. A detailed schedule will probably be available sometime in January.

Another thing to look forward to are the Keynote Speakers. RootsTech is actively working on getting keynote speakers under contract and will hopefully be releasing their names over the next couple months. 

I am also looking forward to Relatives at RootsTech. This allows you to see how many of the people attending RootsTech are your relatives are and lets you reach out to them to share information. I usually have around 100 Relatives at RootsTech but others have tens of thousands of relatives. Please reach out to me if you find that we are related. I would expect to see this come out about a month before RootsTech starts.

I hope everyone has the opportunity to join me at RootsTech, and if you are see me there make sure you say "Hi".

MyHeritage Live Memory

In the past I have written about the various photo enhancement tools that MyHeritage has available.

• During RootsTech 2024, I posted about MyHeritage releasing the Reimagine app. This app automatically cropped individual photos from a photo album page and performed facial recognition, matching the various photos to those who were in them.
• In 2022, I posted about MyHeritage's AI Time Machine application which transported your images back to any time you wanted. Millions of people reimagined themselves as cowboys, Roman gladiators, and astronauts.
• During RootsTech 2022, I posted about MyHeritage releasing their Deep Story applications. The Deep Story application added onto the Deep Nostalgia application from 2021 by not only animating the images but allowing them to tell their own story. 
• During RootsTech 2021, I posted about MyHeritage releasing their Deep Nostalgia application. The Deep Nostalgia application animated the faces of our ancestors. 
• During RootsTech 2020, I posted about MyHeritage announcing their In Color photo colorization tool which changed our black and white and discolored photos to color images.

MyHeritage Live Memory

And now, MyHeritage has released their Live Memory application. This application can animate your photos into 5 second video clips. I have tried it on several of my photos and here is an example of one of the better versions. The quality of the video depends on the quality of the photograph. Poor lighting, shadows, blurriness all contribute to poor video output.

Original wedding photo

Live Memory video

The MyHeritage AI tool is able to take the context of the photograph and provides a relevant video that can be used to tell a story. Running the same photo through the Live Memory app several times does produce a different video each time so you can select the one you like the best if you aren't happy with what is produced.

The App is only available on the updated MyHeritage mobile app and can be used with your photo gallery on the device or the photos that have been uploaded to your MyHeritage Gallery.

If you want to learn more about the Live Memory app, visit MyHeritage's blog and read all about it.

RootsTech Ticket Giveaway

 

RootsTech 2025 is on the way. Currently, prices for tickets are $129 for a 3-day pass. That's about the same cost as a 1-day pass to a Disney World Park but there are fewer rollercoasters. As a RootsTech Media Representative, I have been provided 2 passes to give away to my readers. You can enter to win one of these passes at https://forms.gle/MzV6Esz9cA4vw4Pt8. Additionally, other Media Representatives will be giving away passes. I will provide a running list below as I receive links to their giveaways. You can enter as many contests as you like but can only win one ticket. Enter even if you have already bought your ticket because you can get a refund if you win.

• Miles Meyer - https://forms.gle/MzV6Esz9cA4vw4Pt8
• Aimee Cross - https://ancestryaimee.com/rootstech_giveaway  
• Aimee is also providing a free handout "10 Tips for a Better RootsTech Experience"
• Carolina Girl Genealogy - Carolina Girl Genealogy: Win a Free Ticket to RootsTech 2025!
• You can find these Giveaways and others at Conference Keepers.

Keep an eye on this page for updates and more contest links.

What did you do for family history month?

I've managed to write three blog posts this month. I haven't done that in quite awhile. I am trying to do better with my posts but there are just so many things going on. For example, since I live in Florida, I have to watch out for hurricanes. We had two hurricanes come through about two weeks apart - Helene and Milton. Milton was definitely the worse of the two for us. We had over 120 tornado warnings in our area - not watches - during the afternoon and early evening of October 9. There were 19 confirmed tornados in the area of the circle where I live, many of them EF2 and higher. There were also multiple deaths caused by these tornados. 

Map of tornado warnings from Hurricane Milton, October 9, 2024.

So, what was I doing as these tornados were coming through? Well, I was doing a live feed for RootsTech to talk about the upcoming RootsTech conference on March 6-8, 2025. If you watch the video, you will notice that the tornado warning warnings go off during the live interview. 

RootsTech Live interview on October 9, 2025.

Speaking of RootsTech, you can still get the early bird pricing of $99 for 3-day RootsTech tickets until October 31. After that, the price goes up to $120. So if you plan on going, now is the time to buy tickets. Additionally, there will be a RootsTech promotional give away between the beginning of November and the end of January. Many of the RootsTech Media, including myself, will each be giving away two free tickets to RootsTech. More details will be forthcoming on this but you should watch the feeds for many of your favorite genealogy bloggers/vloggers including Aimee Cross, Connie Knox, Conference Keeper, and many others. I will provide an updated list when I am ready to begin this give away. One thing to note, you can get a refund on your purchased ticket if you win one of the free tickets so don't wait to buy your tickets.

Now that we have talked about the weather and RootsTech, let's move on to some other topics.

Some of you may know that I am the Education Director for The Family History Guide. Our mission is to greatly increase the number of people actively involved in family history worldwide, and to make everyone's family history journey easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable. The Family History Guide was created in 2015 and debuted at the BYU Family History Conference in Provo, Utah on July 15, 2015. Over the last 9 years, the Family History Guide has helped hundreds of thousands learn more about family history and discovering their ancestors and we continue to grow. Last year during RootsTech we began talks with the National Genealogical Society and this year we formalized that agreement. We are now partnered with NGS to provide educational materials for their members. Additionally, The Family History Guide was asked to be featured on ViewPoint with Dennis Quaid on PBS. The filming was done in September and we are looking forward to the episode being aired sometime after Thanksgiving.

Another thing that happened this month is that OurAncestories Genealogy turned 1 year old. My wife and I licensed our business in October 2024 in preparation for my retirement from a 9 to 5 job next year. We have been doing research for more than 25 years and thought we would start doing it professionally. We have had great support from our clients over the last year and have had a huge amount of research work in addition to our speaking events. We are currently working on 6-generation research projects for several people who are planning a heritage vacation to Germany next year. This research is tracing their families back to the early 1800s and late 1700s to determine the towns their families came from so they can plan their visits. I currently have over 60 German towns identified for the clients as well as towns in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. My wife is heavily into genetic genealogy. She has been helping clients find their biological lines in some very challenging situations. One of the most challenging was a for one client who had a series of father-son relationships where the biological fathers were not know. He was not aware of this until we started his project.

My wife and I also completed our certificate in Advanced Methodology at the International Institute of Genealogical Studies (IIGS). We both received certificates with distinction. This certificate included 14 classes and we had to get A's in all classes to receive the certificate of distinction. 

Certificate of Distinction in Advanced Methodology from the IIGS

In addition to this blog, I also try to write in my other blog, OurAncestories, when I can. Both of my blogs have anniversaries in November. This blog is has been in production since 2008 and OurAncestories has been in production since 2009. I appreciate all of you who have been following me all these years.

One last thing - as we begin the holiday season (yes, the stores have already started putting up Christmas decorations), think of ways to include your family, both the living and those that have passed, in your gatherings and find ways to preserve your family history for those yet to come.

Free Genealogy Education

October is Family History Month, Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Filipino American History Month, and German American Heritage Month (Oktoberfest). It is a great time to celebrate your ancestors and learn more about their lives and your heritage. 

As genealogists we are always looking for free resources and one of those resources are webinars. Since I am still working, I usually am not able to attend live webinars so I hope that they records some of these.

RootsTech Monthly Webinar Series

Did you know that RootsTech has a monthly webinar series? They advertise these on their website under Mini Events. These events are also advertised on FamilySearch. So what is scheduled for October?

• October 8 - 12:00pm EDT - German Empire Research – Understanding Your Ancestors Hometown Using Meyer’s Gazetteer
• October 10 - 12:00pm EDT - Using the FamilySearch Catalog
• October 15 - 12:00pm EDT - How to Build Quick Trees
• October 17 - 12:00pm EDT - Pilgrims, Puritans, and Piecers: Researching Early New England Settlers (1620-1700)
• October 22 - 12:00pm EDT - Registros parroquiales: Una introducción
• October 24 - 12:00pm EDT - Using the FamilySearch Community

BYU Library Family History Webinars

The BYU Library has monthly family history webinars which they advertise on their Family History Webinars website. You can join their email list to receive updates about upcoming events.

• October 10 - 7:00pm EDT - Mayhem on a Manifest
• October 17 - 7:00pm EDT - Mining the Treasures of FamilySearch

They also have Sunday Family History virtual classes. 

• October 13 - 4:00pm EDT - FamilySearch Basics (for Latter-day Saints) 1: Getting to Know FamilySearch.org
• October 13 - 5:30pm EDT - Updated, Untangling a Mess on the FamilySearch Family Tree
• October 20 - 4:00pm EDT - FamilySearch Basics (for Latter-day Saints) 2: Adding & Correcting Info in Family Tree
• October 20 - 5:30pm EDT - How Do I…Find “Missing” Children in My Tree?
• October 27 - 4:00pm EDT - FamilySearch Basics (for Latter-day Saints) 3: Finding People to Add to Family Tree
• October 27 - 5:30pm EDT - Tracking Your Ancestors After a Divorce

Maybe you want to attend a Q&A session about a specific topic. BYU Library has designated times for Q&A Topics.

• Tuesdays & Thursdays - 5:00pm - Computer Tips & Tricks with Elder Van Celaya
• Mondays - 5:00pm EDT - French, French Canadian, Italian, Spanish Research with Sister Michele Templeman
• Mondays & Fridays - 2:00pm - Chinese Research with Elder Franklin West

Legacy Family Tree Webinars

Legacy Family Tree Webinars have free as well as subscription webinars. Their free webinars are usually available for 7 days if you miss the scheduled event. After that they become part of the subscription service. You can find their current list of upcoming webinars on their webpage.

• October 8 - 2:00pm EDT - 5 Ways to Use AI to Involve Children & Youth in Family History
• October 9 - 8:00pm EDT - A History of Calendars for Genealogists
• October 11 - 11:30am EDT - Rubik's Cube Genealogy: A New Twist on Your Old Data
• October 11 - 12:45pm EDT - Probate Power: Parents for Charles, a Father of Phoebe
• October 11 - 3:30pm EDT - Evidence Mining & Context: Powerful Tools to Dig Deep
• October 11 - 4:45pm EDT - Strategies for Resolving Conflicting Evidence
• October 11 - 6:00pm EDT - Applying the Genealogical Proof Standard to Researching Enslaved Families

There are many more webinars that have been recorded and archived on these sites and others. So there is always something to study to increase your genealogy skills.

Also, remember that RootsTech will be live on March 6-8. You can now register for the early bird price of $99 until October 31. And be sure to take a look at the more than 1500 archived presentations from the previous years.