The Genealogy Guys Podcast #295 - 2015 October 4

The news includes:

· RootsMagic announces the availability of updates for the iOS and Android apps.

· The city of St. Augustine, Florida, celebrated the 450th anniversary of its settlement by the Spanish on September 6, 2015. The Los Floridanos Society also held a reunion where genealogical information was exchanged, and DNA samples were collected for a study by Dr. Theodore Schurr of the University of Pennsylvania.

· Ancestry.com launched the largest online collection of wills and probate records in the United States in September, more than 170 million documents from 1668-2005.

· Ancestry.com has renewed its digitization partnership agreement with the National Archives and Records Administration.

· AncestryDNA launched a new feature that allows individuals to share their ethnicity results.

· The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) announced the publication of The Great Migration Directory, Immigrants to New England, 1620-1640: A Concise Compendium by award-winning genealogist Robert Charles Anderson.

· FamilySearch.org announced that registration for RootsTech 2016 is now open.

· FamilySearch.org has added more than 2.7 million searchable historical records from the 1915 New Jersey State Census to its free online collections. The images are available on microfilm and they can be ordered for use at Family History Centers.

· Findmypast.com and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society have made thousands of documents and records from the society’s eLibrary available to search online at Findmypast.com.

Book Reviews:

George reviews two great new books by Jennifer Holik that focus on military research from the World War II era. They are:

• Stories from the World War II Battlefield – Volume 1 Reconstructing Army, Air Corps, and National Guard Service
• Stories from the World War II Battlefield – Volume 2 Navigating Service Records for the Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Merchant Marines

Listener email includes:

• Gus extends his thanks to the listeners who provided their great translation of the information on Herb DeNoble’s tombstone relating to his unit during World War I.
• Angela and her son Luke shared some helpful and interesting information for genealogical research at Veritas Prep at http://wwww.veritasprep.com/genealogy-resources-by-veritas-prep/.
• Ryan is looking for information about the death of his great-grandmother in 1954.
• Debi asked for the names of the two books mentioned by George about Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. They are:
  • Alexander, John Brevard: Biographical sketches of the early settlers of the Hopewell section and reminiscences of pioneers and their descendants by families. (Originally published in 1897 in Charlotte, NC, by the Observer Printing & Publishing House.) Reprint. University of California Libraries. Unindexed.
  • Syfert, Scott. The First American Declaration of Independence? The Disputed History of the Mecklenburg Declaration of May 20, 1775. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. 2014.
• Jenny asks how does AncestryDNA come up with the "New Ancestor Discoveries" on its site?
• Larry provides a detailed clarification on the subject of marriage bonds.
• Matt asks Drew for tips about tracking down common-surnamed ancestors, including the use of DNA testing.