Free Access to Immigration and Travel Records

Ancestry.com is offering free access to its “Immigration and Travel Records” through September 5th.

To access these records, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

http://www.ancestry.com/s43348/t23348/ancestry.com/dynamic/immigration?o_iid=43348&o_lid=43348&o_sch=Web+Property

Note: To view search results will require registration for a “free account.”

Footnote Changes Name and Emphasis

Footnote is refocusing its efforts and has announced its intention “...to create the finest and most comprehensive collection of U.S. Military records available on the internet...” To better reflect this new direction, the website name has been changed to Fold3.

Note: Most of the non-military content will continue to be found on the site with the exception of some third-party newspaper content.

To read more details about the change, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

http://blog.fold3.com/footnote-is-now-fold3/

Free Access to 1940 U.S. Federal Census

Mark your calendars and to-do lists. Ancestry.com has announced that it will make available free online access to the 1940 U.S. Federal Census. Ancestry’s free access to the census (to be released to the public on April 2, 2012) will begin in mid-April of 2012 and run through 2013.

To view Ancestry’s August 17 press release, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

http://corporate.ancestry.com/press/press-releases/2011/08/1940-u.s.-census-to-be-free-on-ancestry.com/

Mocavo has added new features

Mocavo.com, the world’s largest free genealogy search engine, has added two new features. This recently developed search engine was the subject of a posting to this blog on March 17, 2011.

• Users can upload their family trees to Mocavo who will then advise them of search results for ancestors in their family tree. Family trees can be uploaded in GEDCOM format and then within a couple of weeks users will be emailed (weekly or daily - user’s choice) with search results.
• Submitters of family trees, at their option, can have their trees included in Mocavo’s search engine thus allowing other Mocavo users to share in the search results.

To use the search engine, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

http://www.mocavo.com/

Don't Just Archive and Forget

In her Tip Of The Day on “Archiving digital photos,” computer guru Kim Komando reminds readers that after archiving digital photos you “...don’t just archive and forget them.” With changing technology, she recommends that archives be reviewed every few years to make certain that “the data is still intact and the format is still valid.”

Note: This recommendation should apply to all digitally stored files and not just digital photos.

The tip of the day is a very comprehensive discussion of the subject and even includes a brief discussion of hard copy photos.

To read the complete “Tip Of The Day,” copy and paste the following URL into you web browser:

http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=11205&utm_medium=nl&utm_source=csotd&utm_content=2011-08-11-fifl&utm_campaign=l

FamilySearch Records Update

1.8 million records and images have been added to 23 FamilySearch.org U.S. collections - including the addition of images and an index to the collection “United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942.”

There were also additions to collections for seven other countries.

For complete details, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser:

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=b0de542dc933cfcb848d187ea&id=f5142c4a8e&e=be1e8c1a4c