Ancestry.com Inc. to Acquire Archives.com

The following is from Ancestry.

First a note from Tim Sullivan:

I wanted to send you a note to provide a little more information about our announcement today of an agreement to acquire Archives.com. As you know, Archives.com is a fast-growing family history site that has clearly attracted new users to family history with a product that is easy to use and one that has proven to be a great way for people to get started with family history. 

Like Ancestry.com, the team at Archives.com has an extensive roadmap of product and technology innovation that we believe will make their service an even more unique and well-differentiated player in the dynamic and growing online family history category. Additionally, they’ve done a great job building strong partnerships with a number of key family history organizations, including a smart and strategic partnership with the U.S. National Archives, FamilySearch and findmypast.com to index and provide free digital access to the recently released 1940 U.S. Federal Census. These types of relationships, along with some creative content acquisition strategies, have helped build out Archives.com robust collection of family history records and expand the interest in family history.

In some ways, we view our deal with Archives.com as a coming-of-age moment for the online family history category.  The success of companies like Archives.com, and the innovation we see across our industry, in many ways validates the work we have all done over many years to build category awareness. Archives.com has found an area of excellence in the family history category and they are a welcomed addition to the Ancestry.com family.

We very much view the acquisition of Archives.com as a way for us to accelerate our strategy of serving multiple customer segments with well differentiated offerings. I want to emphasis that our plan is to keep Archives.com as a distinct brand and site, to continue to nurture its existing partnerships, and to continue to invest in new content, product and technology.

There have never been more products and services available to genealogists than there are today, and I’m sure you will agree with me that that is a great thing.  We are excited to help the talented Archives.com team continue to grow alongside Ancestry.com and look forward to helping them achieve their vision for a great online family history service.

Tim Sullivan

ANCESTRY.COM INC. TO ACQUIRE ARCHIVES.COM

–“Simple and Affordable” Fast-growing Start-up Adds Complementary Offering to Ancestry.com–

PROVO, Utah, April 25, 2012 – Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Archives.com, a family history website, for approximately $100 million in cash and assumed liabilities. 

This transaction will enable Ancestry.com to add a differentiated service targeted to a complementary segment of the growing family history category. In addition, Ancestry.com will welcome a team of talented engineers, digital marketers, and family history innovators into the Ancestry.com fold and also gain access to a proprietary technology platform that has supported Archives.com’s rapid growth.

Archives.com is owned and operated by Inflection LLC, a Silicon Valley-based technology company.  Since Archives.com’s launch in January 2010, the site has rapidly grown to more than 380,000 paying subscribers who pay approximately $39.95 a year.  Archives.com offers access to over 2.1 billion historical records, including birth records, obituaries, immigration and passenger lists, historical newspapers, and U.S. and U.K. Censuses. 

“Archives.com has built a fantastic and fast-growing business that we think is highly complementary to Ancestry.com’s online family history offering,” said Tim Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ancestry.com. “We love their focus on making family history simple and affordable, and we are excited to help the talented Archives.com team continue to grow alongside Ancestry.com, Fold3.com, and Family Tree Maker.”

“Family history remains a dynamic and growing online category,” added Sullivan. “Archives.com’s focus is consistent with our mission to help everyone discover, preserve and share their family history, which will help continue our efforts in delivering amazing discoveries to an even broader audience.”

Over the past two years, Archives.com has partnered with multiple well-known family history organizations that have helped build out Archives.com robust collection of family history records. Most recently, Archives.com partnered with the U.S. National Archives to provide free digital access to the recently released 1940 U.S. Federal Census.

“We are proud of the experience we’ve built with Archives.com and believe strongly in its future potential,” said Matthew Monahan, CEO and Co-Founder of Inflection.  “Combining with Ancestry.com positions Archives.com to best capitalize on that potential, pairing complementary visions of the marketplace and the opportunity.  We’ve long admired Ancestry.com’s content and technology and the innovations that the Ancestry.com team continues to bring to market.  We’re excited to see how this transaction expands the reach of family history to an even larger audience.”

Upon completion of the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including expiration of the HSR waiting period, Ancestry.com will continue to operate Archives.com separately retaining its brand and website.  Multiple Inflection employees, including key product and engineering executives are expected to join the Ancestry.com team.

About Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with more than 1.8 million paying subscribers. More than 9 billion records have been added to the site in the past 15 years. Ancestry users have created more than 34 million family trees containing approximately 4 billion profiles. In addition to its flagship site, Ancestry.com offers several localized Web sites designed to empower people to discover, preserve and share their family history.

About Archives.com
Archives.com is a leading family history website that makes discovering family history simple and affordable. The company has assembled more than 2.1 billion historical records all in a single location. Archives also partners with other leading family history websites to provide a comprehensive resource for researching your family history. Archives.com is free to try for seven days, allowing anyone to explore the benefits of membership without risk or obligation. For more information and to start discovering your family history, please visit http://www.archives.com/.

About Inflection
Inflection is a Big Data and e-commerce startup headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley. Leveraging its proprietary technology platform, the company has built innovative data services like Archives.com,PeopleSmart.com, and Identity.com. Inflection was founded in 2006 and is backed by tier-one venture capitalists Matrix Partners and Sutter Hill Ventures.

FamilySearch Records Update 17 Apr 2012

The following is from FamilySearch.

The 1940 U.S. Census Image Upload and Indexing Presses On

FamilySearch, Archives.com, and Findmypast.com have continued publishing browsable images online from the 1940 U.S. Federal Census this week. Volunteer indexers are encouraged to help out at the1940census.com.  FamilySearch also published new, free records online for the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Portugal, Slovakia, and the United States. Volunteer to help index the 1940 U.S. census now, or search these diverse collections and 2.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.
 

Searchable historic records on FamilySearch.org are made available by thousands of volunteers from around the world who transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the amount of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about how to personally help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records as a volunteer indexer at  FamilySearch.org. 

 

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online atFamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Collection	Indexed Records	Digital Images	Comments
Czech Republic, Třeboň, Nobility Seignorial records, 1619-1859	0	14,216	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Estonia, Church Books 1835-1940	0	3,547	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Germany, Bavaria, Nördlingen, Miscellaneous City Records, 1385-1943	0	14,427	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Portugal, Braga, Catholic Church Records, 1530-1911	0	21,599	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Slovakia, Church and Synagogue Books, 1592-1910	0	295,532	Added browsable images to existing collection.
United States, New Jersey, County Marriages, 1682-1956	33,836	0	Added indexed records to existing collection.
United States Census, 1940 (Alabama)	0	79,619	New browsable image collection.
United States Census, 1940 (California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Texas)	0	476,505	New browsable image collection.
United States Census, 1940 (Florida)	0	54,494	New browsable image collection.
United States Census, 1940 (Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Utah)	0	928,494	New browsable image collection.
United States Census, 1940 (Louisiana)	0	64,838	New browsable image collection.
United States Census, 1940 (Mississippi)	0	60,104	New browsable image collection.
United States Census, 1940 (Oklahoma)	0	67,478	New browsable image collection.
United States Census, 1940 (Pennsylvania)	0	279,042	New browsable image collection.

New Collection on Fold3 - Sultana Disaster, April 1865

The following is from Fold3.

The Sultana Disaster

When the boiler exploded aboard the steamer Sultana on April 27, 1865, more than 1,700 people lost their lives. Most of those aboard were recently released Union prisoners from Confederate prisons in Cahaba, Alabama, and Andersonville, Georgia. They were en route from Camp Fiske in Mississippi to Camp Chase, Ohio, but the explosion occurred only a few hours into the journey.

In addition to the faulty boiler, the ship was also grossly overburdened with 2,200 passengers on a vessel built to carry 376.

Records relating to the Sultana Disaster, April 1865, are now available on Fold3. They include lists of the former prisoners who survived the disaster, with military service information and brief comments on their injuries. There are also lists of those who perished, yet not of the civilian survivors or those who died.

The enormity of the disaster led quickly to investigations. By January 1866, a court-martial was convened to charge Captain Frederick Speed, the man who volunteered to coordinate the transfer of prisoners, with “neglect of duty to the prejudice of good order and military discipline.” There are 647 documents in the court-martial case with testimonies, witness accounts, and statements by the defense and prosecution. After "nearly six long weary months" the trial came to a close. Capt. Speed was the only person charged in the incident. He was found guilty, yet the charges were later dismissed by Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt.

Colorado Expo Coming June 2012!

The following is from Family History Expos.

We are pleased to inform you of our upcoming Colorado Family History Expo in Colorado Springs, CO on June 1-2, 2012. We will have an array of vendors with the latest tools and techniques to help in verifying your ancestors. We also have an agenda filled with speakers to help you move your research along. If you have not already registered, pleaseclick here to register for the Colorado Expo. If you have registered, please tell a friend and have them register too.

Don R. Anderson Senior VP FamilySearch to Keynote Don R. Anderson : Senior Vice President for FamilySearch. In this role, he has the responsibility for the Patron Services organization including the FamilySearch Family History Library as well as the Worldwide Support organization. Don's responsibilities include providing help to those searching for ancestors using FamilySearch, the Family History Library, Family History Centers, the FamilySearch website, CD software, and other resources. These are accessed worldwide via telephone, e-mail, and the Internet. Don's organization provides services in more than 12 languages from more than 110 countries worldwide with an excess of 10 million interactions annually. In his role for FamilySearch, Don has traveled to more than 27 countries on five continents to ensure that services are available to those around the world searching for their ancestors. The resources of FamilySearch Patron Services are in more than eighty countries and include nearly two thousand individuals, both volunteers and employees. Don is married to the former Anne Russell and they are the parents of two boys. Help Us Make the Colorado Expo More Successful You can help us make this event even more successful by sharing this information with friends, family, and your community. Click here for a pdf flyer that you can print and distribute to community centers, libraries, genealogical and family history societies, local grocery stores, restaurants, etc. to help insure the continued success of this marvelous Expo.  We appreciate your help and support.  Why Should You Attend One of Our Expos? Following are some of the benefits for attending our Expos: Class Handouts Syllabus includes more than 300 pages of research guidance. Free online class offered by Genealogical Studies valued at $89.00  Download, view and study class handouts before the event so you can come prepared with questions. FamilySearch developers, consultant training, and expert researchers from the Family History Library will be there teaching classes. Ask-the-Pros booth where you can bring personal research and genealogical questions to discuss with our professional researchers $50 value. Exhibit area filled with vendors who have unique products and services, family historians and genealogists love to learn about. (Our book vendor alone will have more than 400 titles to browse or purchase. Books selected based on expert knowledge by Leland K. Meitzler who really knows what people need to be successful.) Speakers and vendors from throughout the United States, Canada, and Israel. A unique opportunity to increase skills and networking with other researchers. Meet bloggers who will be talking about the event via twitter, blogs, and other social media.  Amazing door prizes each hour and grand prizes at the end of the Expo! People qualify to win prizes by attending classes (Grand prizes include a gift bag filled with FamilySearch specialty items, $900 in online classes offered by Genealogical Studies of Ontario, Canada; a professional research package valued at $500 offered by Arlene H. Eakle, PhD and more)   Get Your Room Reserved Now! Colorado Springs Crowne Plaza Colorado Springs Run of the House - $99 Make your reservations early. Cutoff date is May 2, 2012. Make your reservation online by clicking on the logo at left or call 888-233-9527. Our Colorado Expo Sponsors We very much appreciate our sponsors and want to recognize them here. Our Expos would not be possible without their support.   Show Sponsor   Supported By Major Sponsors Upcoming Events from Family History Expos   Colorado Family History Expo 2012 Crowne Plaza Colorado Springs 2886 South Circle Drive Colorado Springs, Colorado 80906 June 01 - 02, 2012 Northern California Family History Expo 2012 Crowne Plaza Sacramento Northeast 5321 Date Avenue Sacramento, California 95841 July 06 - 07, 2012 Illinois Family History Expo 2012  Crowne Plaza Springfield 3000 South Dirksen Parkway Springfield, Illinois 62703 August 03 - 04, 2012 Midwest Family History Expo 2012  Holiday Inn Convention Center 110 South Second Avenue Kearney, Nebraska 68848 September 07 - 08, 2012  October Salt Lake City Family History Library Retreat 2012 Salt Lake Plaza Hotel 122 West South Temple Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 October 22 - 26, 2012  Georgia Family History Expo 2012  Gwinnett Center 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway Duluth, Georgia 30097 November 09 - 10, 2012

We are excited to welcome you to the Colorado Family History Expo coming to Colorado Springs in June and all of our additional upcoming Expos!    Sincerely,   Holly T. Hansen Family History Expos, Inc.

Pre-registration ends soon for the NGS 2012 Family History Conference

The following is from National Genealogical Society.

The NGS 2012 Family History Conference is just 15 days away! Pre-registration ends on Tuesday, 24 April, so be sure to register today! You can also register on-site at the Duke Energy Convention Center beginning 8 May 2012. Location details and hours are listed below.

NGS 2012 Family History Conference

There are over 170 lecture sessions at the NGS conference ranging in topic from technology skills; to military records; to ethnic research; to methodology and skillbuilding! Read more.

There will be about 100 different exhibitors in this year's exhibit hall -- just about anything you want or need to help you with your genealogical research. Read more.

In addition to the over 170 lectures this year at the conference, there will be two demonstration areas offering more than fifty additional learning opportunities. The demo stages will be located in the exhibit hall and will feature twenty-minute exhibitor presentations on their products and/or services.

Location

The NGS 2012 Family History Conference will be held at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The convention center is located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, just blocks from I-71 and I-75 and 10 minutes from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The downtown area offers shopping, dining, theatre, a lively arts and music scene, and is just a short walk from the Ohio River.

Attendee Check-In and On-Site Registration Hours

The NGS 2012 Family History Conference will be located at the Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH. Even though you have registered for the conference, you are expected to check-in and pick up your conference bag, program and syllabus on flash drive (Printed syllabus, if pre-ordered before early bird deadline). Please bring you r ID to check-in.

Tuesday, 8 May 2012

12:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, 9 May 2012

7:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Thursday, 10 May 2012

7:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Friday, 11 May 2012

7:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Saturday, 12 May 2012

7:00 a.m.–12 p.m.

Policies for Submitting Names for Temple Ordinances

The following is from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Notice Date:          April 12, 2012 To:             Family History Consultants, Family History Center Directors, and Staff From:         Family History Department Subject:     Policies for Submitting Names for Temple Ordiances Recently, the First Presidency of the Church reiterated the policies, first stated in 1995, concerning the submitting of names for proxy temple ordinances. As both a user of the system (new.familysearch.org) where temple ordinances are cleared and submitted and as a leader in family history, you should help users follow these policies. You will find the policy letter below this e-mail. In a related Church News article, Brother Dennis C. Brimhall, managing director of the Family History Department, reported that "the searching out of our family and preparing the names for the work to be done in the temple is . . . a responsibility, but it is also a privilege. That privilege is extended to the members by those who hold the keys to [do] the work. The[se] keys . . . are held by the First Presidency of the Church" (Sarah Jane Weaver, "Family History-Church Asks Members to Understand Policies," Church News, Mar. 1, 2012). (Click here to see the article.) The First Presidency set these policies. Accordingly, the Conditions of Use for users ofnew.familysearch.org and familysearch.org require compliance to the policies before you can submit names to the temple. As a family history consultant, family history center director, or staff member, many times you are the first person whom members go to for guidance and direction. It is imperative that you understand these policies and are able to articulate what they mean and that you teach compliance to them. Noncompliance could mean the loss of privileges to usenew.familysearch.org. Over the next few months a series of e-mail communications will be sent to all registered users of new.familysearch.org reminding them of these policies.

Family History Library May 2012 Research Series

The following is from the Family History Library.

Free Research Series on Mid-Atlantic States Research
The Family History Library Hosts Events in May.
 
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Genealogists and family history enthusiasts looking for help with research in the Mid-Atlantic States will be interested in classes held at the Family History Library in May. A free Mid-Atlantic States Research Series will be held on Saturday, May 12, at the Family History Library. The classes will include:

9:00 a.m.    “New Jersey”

10:15 a.m.  “New York”

11:30 a.m.  “Big-City Research”

To view the class schedule online, go to www.familysearch.org.  Classes will be held in the Main floor classroom of the Family History Library.  The library is located west of Temple Square on West Temple between North Temple and South Temple Streets in downtown Salt Lake City.  On Saturdays, parking is free to library patrons and is located behind the Church History Museum.  To register for these free classes, send an email to FHLClassReg@familysearch.org or call 1-801-240-4950. 


Free Research Series on Advanced German Research
The Family History Library Hosts Events in May.
 
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Genealogists and family history enthusiasts looking for help with advanced research in Germany will be interested in classes held at the Family History Library in May. A free Advanced German Research Series will be held on Saturday, May 12, at the Family History Library. The classes will include:

9:00 a.m.    “Beyond the Basics of Church Records”

10:00 a.m.  “Using German Compiled Genealogies”

11:00 a.m.  “Inheritance Records”

To view the class schedule online, go to www.familysearch.org.  Classes will be held in the B1 classroom on the first lower level of the Family History Library.  The library is located west of Temple Square on West Temple between North Temple and South Temple Streets in downtown Salt Lake City.  On Saturdays, parking is free to library patrons and is located behind the Church History Museum.  To register for these free classes, send an email to FHLClassReg@familysearch.org or call 1-801-240-4950. 


Free Workshop on Older English Handwriting
The Family History Library Hosts Events in May.
 
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Genealogists and family history enthusiasts looking for help with older English handwriting will be interested in a workshop held at the Family History Library in May. A free Older English Handwriting Workshop will be held on Saturday, May 12, at the Family History Library. The workshop will include:

9:00 a.m.    “Introduction and Examples”

11:00 a.m.  “Hands-on Practice”

To view the class schedule online, go to www.familysearch.org.  The workshop will be held in the B2 classroom on the second lower level of the Family History Library.  The library is located west of Temple Square on West Temple between North Temple and South Temple Streets in downtown Salt Lake City.  On Saturdays, parking is free to library patrons and is located behind the Church History Museum.  To register for these free classes, send an email to FHLClassReg@familysearch.org or call 1-801-240-4950. 

Riverton Saturday Series Apr 21, 2012

The following is from FamilySearch.

Riverton FamilySearch Library to Host an Event

on Finding Your Elusive Family Members

April 21 from 9:00 A.M. to Noon

RIVERTON, UTAH¾It looks so easy on NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are, as celebrities trot around the globe in search of their ancestral origins. Most of us yearn to know where we come from, what our ancestors did to make their mark in this world, and what characteristics we might have inherited from them. But trying to piece together the puzzle, one elusive document at a time, can be challenging.

Popular presenter Ron Ray in his keynote address “Families Are Forever—Who Is Our Family and How Do We Find Them?” will give stymied family history enthusiasts new hope by demonstrating ways to successfully track down elusive family members using a variety of Internet tools. 

Ron Ray has been heavily involved in genealogy research since 1980. He recently retired from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), where he worked for about 25 years and where he headed up the information services department in St. George, Utah, since the 1990s. Ron has worked with BLM’s General Land Office to uncover valuable family history information. Of particular genealogical significance is the discovery of many of the initial transfers of land titles from the federal government to those who purchased or received lands within the States. Ron currently maintains a family history website at EagleQuestPro.com/share, where he offers valuable web links for family history researchers.

Following the 9:00 a.m. keynote presentation, there will be two blocks of four classes each that will cover topics of interest to both beginning and advanced family history enthusiasts.

Classes to be held from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. are: 

•  “RootsMagic—Beginner”¾Sue Maxwell
• “Midwest State Census Records”¾Luana Darby
• “Making the Jump from New FamilySearch to Family Trees”¾Linda Baker
•  “Searching for Ancestors Step by Step: FamilySearch Wiki Gold Mine”¾Sheri Lynn Lemon 

The classes available from 11:00 a.m. to noon are: 

• “RootsMagic—Advanced¾Sue Maxwell
• “Preparing Names for Temple Ordinances: What Are the Temple Submission Policies?”¾Ray Garrison
• “Conducting Oral Interviews—The Most Important Research You’ll Ever Do”¾Barry Ewell
• “Finding Your ‘Ssons’ and ‘Datters’ in Scandinavian Records”¾Linda Baker

Registration is not required for this free seminar. The Riverton FamilySearch Library is located in the LDS Riverton Office Building at 3740 Market Center Drive. The facility is near the intersection of Bangerter Highway and 13400 South, just east of the Home Depot.

Sincerely, 

FamilySearch