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2014 Genealogy Year in Review: Episode 79

By Family Tree Editors

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We’ll discuss major genealogy news to happen in 2014, the best family history websites of 2014, and tips from the best webinars to take place this year.

Ep. 79: December 2014

Back to the episode list

In this episode:


News from the Blogosphere with Diane Haddad

Diane and Lisa review the top genealogy stories of 2014.


101 Best Websites: Genealogy News

Allison gives her favorite sites for keeping up on genealogy news:


Family Tree University: Best Webinars of 2014

Tyler’s Top 4 Webinars and Tips

Using DNA to Solve Family Mysteries by Blaine Bettinger

Sometimes it’s just as important to consider what DNA can’t do for your genealogy, as it is to know what it can do.

What DNA can do:

  • Examine deep ancestry (1,000’s of years ago)
  • Examine recent ancestry (within past 500-700 years)
  • Identify unknown genetic relatives
  • Test genealogical hypotheses & answer family mysteries
  • Reveal family secrets!

What DNA can’t do:

  • Tests will NOT return a family tree
  • Testing alone cannot always determine relatedness
  • DNA alone rarely solves mysteries – combine DNA and traditional research

Making Evernote Effortless by Lisa Louise Cooke

Evernote is an excellent tool for source citations. For instance, you can take a screenshot of citation details on Ancestry.com, and then include a URL back to the webpage.

Photo Editing and Retouching for Genealogists by Nancy Hendrickson

Scan your old photos in color, even if the image is black and white. Even a black and white image can have subtle variations in shades of gray. By scanning in color, you are able to better draw out that contrast.

Cloud Genealogy Crash Course with Randy Whited

There is so much more to the cloud than just online storage. Of course, backup is a major component, but the uses far surpass the obvious. Randy talks about Google Drive and Evernote, of course, which allow you to access your genealogy notes from any computer with an internet connection. He also discusses apps to pull information off of the internet and save it to review later, such as Pocket, Feedly and the Evernote Web-Clipper. He even goes into photo sharing—saving your old photos to the cloud—and collaborative online family trees.


The Publisher’s Desk with Allison Dolan

We want to hear how Family Tree Magazine has helped you in the past decade and a half—and feature some of you on the show. So we’re launching a contest to feature podcast listeners in our special 15th anniversary episode in January!

Here’s how to participate: Call us at 847-868-0387 and leave a voice message.

  1. Say your name, hometown, how long you’ve read Family Tree Magazine and your email address.
  2. Tell us the best thing you’ve learned from Family Tree Magazine: What tip or resource enabled you to make a research breakthrough?
  3. Say “Happy Anniversary, Family Tree Magazine!”

If we feature your voicemail in the January episode, you’ll receive a free copy of our 15 Years of Family Tree Magazine DVD. You can search 96 issues at once and print out pages of interest — think of it as your portable complete Family Tree Magazine library!

The contest will be open through January 5, 2015—that’s just a few weeks away, so don’t wait to dial in. And thanks for sharing your feedback—and for being part of the Family Tree Magazine community.


Your Host: Lisa Louise Cooke

Lisa Louise Cooke

Listen to Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems and Genealogy: Family History Made Easy podcasts in iTunes and visit her website for great research ideas, podcast episodes and videos.

Have fun climbing your family tree!

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