| A Year of Genealogy News (and a Farewell, For Now) |
| When people find out what I do for a living, they sometimes ask, “How can there be genealogy news? The people you’re researching are all dead!” Clearly, they don’t recognize the technological advancements and behind-the-scenes moves that keep changing how we research our ancestors and share findings. Below, I’ve collected some of those paradigm-shifting news highlights from 2023. You’ll also find our reader-favorite articles from throughout the year. New Records and Projects This year saw the release of a big Canadian record set as well as two promising large-scale US records-digitization projects: - The 1931 census of Canada was released in June. Interest was so high that Library and Archives Canada had to temporarily remove record images from its site because the server couldn’t handle the traffic surge.
- American Ancestors launched 10 Million Names, which will attempt to document the names of all enslaved African Americans between the 1500s and 1865.
- The National Genealogical Society resumed Preserve the Pensions, a project that digitizes War of 1812 pension files.
Website and DNA Updates The big genealogy websites each updated their offerings this year, rolling out new features and changing existing ones: - MyHeritage added to its suite of photo-related tools with an innovative Photo Dater and a new mobile scanning app called Reimagine. MyHeritage also launched a new wiki.
- Ancestry.com formally announced ProTools, a new subscription-based set of family tree tools. Features include a tree-checker, new charts and reports, and advanced search filters. The announcement caused a stir among genealogists on social media, partially because the tools cost $9.99/month even for existing Ancestry.com s.
- Ancestry.com sister site RootsWeb will become read-only beginning in January.
- AncestryDNA moved some of its features behind a new subscription, AncestryDNA Plus. (Unlike ProTools, premium DNA tools are included in Ancestry.com’s record subscriptions.)
- Data breaches at GEDmatch revealed in August and at 23andMe in October renewed questions about security and DNA’s use by unauthorized parties, including hackers and law-enforcement agencies.
Industry News Elsewhere in genealogy: - The National Genealogical Society expanded its footprint by merging with the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh and website ConferenceKeeper. And a new partnership with Vivid-Pix allows NGS member societies to borrow scanning equipment.
- Longtime radio show and podcast ExtremeGenes ceased its weekly schedule. Host Scott Fisher plans to release occasional episodes going forward, and listeners can continue accessing the show’s 10-year archive.
- Magazine Internet Genealogy appears to have shuttered.
The Year Ahead We’re following a few stories into 2024: continuing changes to Ancestry.com, the upcoming RootsTech conference, and possible additional fallout from DNA data breaches. On a personal note: The current form of “The Genealogy Insider” will be taking an indefinite hiatus starting in January. But don’t fret—you’ll continue receiving free genealogy news and advice from Family Tree via email each Thursday. We hope you’ll join us on Facebook and Threads for more. If you have any feedback on the Insider, feel free to send us a message at FamilyTree@Yankeepub.com with "Genealogy Insider" in the subject line. Thank you for another great year. Happy holidays, and enjoy the extra time with your family—both the living and the deceased. |
