Archives.com Blog

Archives Partners With NEHGS to Add Over 2 Million New Vital Records

2012-01-19T03:43:23Z

We are pleased to announce the addition of a vital records collection that will prove very valuable to family historians researching ancestors in Massachusetts in the 16th through 19th centuries. Courtesy of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (AmericanAncestors.org), Archives.com has added 2,061,221 birth, death, and marriage records that span the years 1569 to 1850.

Over 900,000 Texas and North Dakota Cemetery and Vital Records Added

2012-01-12T00:27:55Z

Today we are excited to announce the addition of eight collections from Texas and North Dakota. In total, these collections represent an addition of 928, 269 records that will be very valuable to family history researchers tracing ancestors in these states.

From North Dakota, we added 10,948 cemetery records from Dickinson City. This collection spans 1801 to 2011. Each record lists the full name of the deceased person, the cemetery, and plot information, as well as dates of birth and death when available.

Archives Parent Company Adds New VP of User Experience

2012-01-09T23:24:55Z

At Archives we're deeply committed to providing users with an easy-to-use experience that allows you to search and discover ancestors simply and effectively. Today we've strengthened that commitment by adding Peter Merholz, design and user experience veteran, to the team.

Peter will join Archives.com's parent company Inflection as Vice President of User Experience. See the full announcement here.

Peter comes to Inflection from Adaptive Path, a premier user experience consulting firm that he co-founded. Peter helped build a global client base including key companies like Samsung, Twitter, Zappos, and the Harvard Business Review.

Announcing the Winners of the Run & Hug Contest

2012-01-05T00:40:27Z

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Run & Hug family edition contest, sponsored by Archives.com and Whitepages.com. The contest called for the public to vote on submissions of photos and stories about a long-lost relative to win an all-expense paid trip for two to reunite with that relative, along with $1,000 cash.

Shirley Franklin, a homemaker in Lexington, OK, garnered 16,324 votes to win a trip to visit her grandmother in Cleveland. She plans to take her mother, a recently retired nurse who lives in Norman, OK, with her on the visit in April.

Eight Holiday Gifts to Bring Families Together

2011-12-19T20:01:10Z

Are you looking for a family-oriented gift this year? These eight gifts are great to give your family members. The best part? You can enjoy them together. These eight ideas focus on bringing families together, you can learn something new about your heritage or discover a new interest to share.

1. Archives.com gift membership: $25-50. Give the gift of family history without breaking the bank. Archives.com offers gift memberships for three, six, or twelve month subscriptions. Your loved ones will enjoy the opportunity to trace their ancestors and learn about their heritage, whether they are serious hobbyists or just beginners.

Archives.com Gift Memberships, Perfect for Last-Minute Holiday Shopping!

2011-12-19T19:18:11Z

Just in time for the holidays, we're excited to announce the introduction of Archives.com gift memberships! Now you can purchase a gift membership to Archives.com and share the joy of family history with your loved ones.

To purchase an Archives.com gift membership today visit www.archives.com/shop. This makes a fantastic gift for a spouse, child, or parent - or anyone interested in exploring their family history. Best of all, no shipping or standing in line required!

Gift memberships are available for three, six, or twelve month periods and are non-renewing. When you buy a gift membership, you just enter the recipient's name, email address, and a brief message

Three Genealogy Powerhouses Join Forces to Publish 1940 US Census

2011-12-16T18:38:09Z

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - December 16, 2011 - Three leading genealogy organizations, Archives.com, FamilySearch International, and findmypast.com, announced today they are joining forces to launch the 1940 US Census Community Project. The ambitious project aims to engage online volunteers to quickly publish a searchable, high quality name index to the 1940 US Census after it is released in April 2012 by the National Archives and Record Administration of the United States (NARA). The highly anticipated 1940 US Census is expected to be the most popular US record collection released to date. Its completion will allow anyone to search the record collection by name for free online.

Archives.com Partners with Family Tree DNA

2011-11-23T00:17:35Z

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 22, 2011 -- Archives.com, a website devoted to making family history simple and affordable, announces another exciting way users can explore their family heritage. Archives has partnered with Family Tree DNA, the world leader in genetic genealogy, to enable users to purchase DNA tests through its website for the first time. These are being offered at up to 30 percent off the regular price for a limited time. Archives recognizes that DNA testing plays a critical role in family history research, and is glad to offer a simple, convenient way for users to get started with genetic genealogy.

Win a Trip to Reunite With a Relative

2011-11-21T23:34:25Z

Have you lost touch with any of your relatives? The holiday season is when many take the time to connect with family members near and far. If you ask anyone who has been able to reconnect with a family member separated by time or distance, the opportunity to finally see one another can be magical.

As a website built around the importance of connecting families, Archives.com is excited to announce that we are sponsoring a contest with WhitePages.com to connect one lucky winner with their long lost relative. From now until December 19th, we want to hear your favorite memory about that particular relative you would like to see again.

Archives.com Team Welcomes Amy Johnson Crow

2011-11-18T21:07:55Z

Today, we'd like to share the most recent addition to our Content Development team. Amy Johnson Crow, MLIS, CGsm , will join Archives.com as a Genealogical Content Manager and Contract Specialist. We're excited to welcome Amy to the Archives team, where she will be assisting in the acquisition and management of historical records collections.

As a researcher, editor, webmaster, and database developer, Amy's background unites genealogical expertise and technological savvy. A certified genealogist, she has written dozens of articles in genealogy publications, including a piece that garnered first place in the 2003 International Society of Family History Writers and Editors Excellence-in-Writing Contest.

Archives.com Partners with the National Archives on 1940 Census

2011-11-17T14:09:59Z

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 17, 2011 -- Archives.com, the website that makes discovering your family history simple and affordable, has joined in partnership with the National Archives of the United States to provide the public with free digital access to the 1940 Federal Population Census beginning on April 2, 2012. In close collaboration with the National Archives, Archives.com will build a website for researchers to browse, view, and download images from the 1940 Census, the most important collection of newly released U.S. genealogy records in a decade.

Archives.com is pleased to contribute to this momentous project, allowing researchers to digitally access

Document the Veterans in Your Family Tree

2011-11-11T18:44:32Z

This Veterans Day, take some time to honor the veterans in your life, and remember your ancestors who served in the military.

Veterans Day was established on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month of 1918 to mark the peace agreements that ended World War I. In other parts of the world, this day is known as Remembrance Day or Armistice Day (as it was originally called in the United States). Do you have veterans in your family tree?

Celebrate Jewish Genealogy Month

2011-11-10T22:14:50Z

Happy Jewish Genealogy Month! Recognized annually since 1999, Jewish Genealogy Month is now held during the Hebrew month of Cheshvan. This year, Cheshvan corresponds to October 29 through November 26. Whether or not you or your ancestors are Jewish, this month is a great time to celebrate and learn more about Jewish history.

You can start by reading our Expert Series articles on topics specifically related to Jewish genealogy.

Robert J. Friedman's overview of Jewish genealogy offers insight to starting your research and outlines how names may have changed as they were translated from Hebrew into other languages.

Archives.com Awards Grant to Preserve Oral History

2011-11-04T17:05:58Z

We're excited to announce the most recent Archives.com Grant recipient: the Bloomingdale Public Library in Bloomingdale, Illinois. The library will use the grant to further their oral history project, which aims to record and preserve the memories of Bloomingdale community members.

The Village of Bloomingdale, home to about 22,000 people, is located 28 miles west of Chicago. The library's oral history project will be especially valuable to Bloomingdale as it will preserve memories of older community members that might otherwise be lost forever. The project, which had been delayed due to budget constraints, will be able to continue thanks to the $1,000 grant.

Enhanced Image Viewer on Archives.com

2011-11-04T00:29:01Z

Recently, we made a several notable enhancements to the image viewer on Archives.com. Though our original image viewer was a solid beginning, we've vastly improved the functionality to provide users with an extended frame view, easier controls and navigation, and ability to invert colors.

Images of historical records are invaluable to genealogy research, as they help bring our ancestors and their stories to life. They often hold more information than is available in an indexed record, and may even reveal an ancestor's handwriting.

Here we'll give you a quick tour of the enhancements made to the Archives.com image viewer.