Hurley's World

The following announcement was written by Vertical Horizon:
Vertical Horizon announces update of its family tree application MyBlood 1.3

Extra navigation options further increase the intuitive user experience in MyBlood

Antwerp, Friday 30th of July 2010. Vertical Horizon, the Antwerp based software company, releases its genealogy software MyBlood 1.3. In this new release new navigation options were added to further improve the already intuitive user experience.
From this release onwards an optional ‘person list’ is made available on the right side of the window, assuring that all people in the user’s survey are literally always only one click away. This new navigation functionality is available throughout the entire MyBlood application. However, if the user wants more working space, this additional ‘person list’ can be folded away. The user can also easily access the bookmarked people.

On the ‘People workspace’ of MyBlood1.3 the user now gets an overview of where that specific person fits into his (or her) generation and you can also navigate to the people workspace of any of those siblings.

Summarizing, one can say that MyBlood 1.3 allows easy navigation between generations (moving up and down the family tree) but also allows exploring related people within a generation.

Also the search facility has been extended with an extensive list of online genealogy sources like Ancestory.org, FamilySearch.org, Find a grave, Footnote…. These extensions and novelties show that MyBlood sets the standards for any contemporary genealogy software.

Geert Jadoul, head of Product Development Management comments: “At MyBlood we think it is very important that a new release is not only bringing bug fixes but also offers better and new functionality. The MyBlood 1.3 version complies with this philosophy For instance we have completely reworked the ‘task’ functionality making it a real utility to the MyBlood user.” Jadoul continues: “The new and extended navigation functionality focuses again on the user experience. Feedback from our customers tells us that what they like about MyBlood, but we want to take it a step further and be perceived as best in class. Release 1.3 is another step to meet that goal.”

MyBlood 1.3 is sold on the MyBlood site: www.myblood-line.com. A full functional trial version is available for evaluation purposes. MyBlood runs on Windows (XP, Vista and Windows 7) and on Mac OS X (Intel and PowerPC).

About MyBlood

MyBlood is a genealogy application that targets every level of genealogists. It delivers simple views but deep insights on complex genealogy data, by combining relational database technology under the hoot with superior visualization on the outside.

MyBlood supports multiple languages and comes with a free separate program to easily add your own translations and languages if required. MyBlood runs in the exact same way on the PC as it does on a Mac. With full support for the international GEDCOM format, it produces highly portable data sets avoiding any vendor lock. With out of the box integration with Google Maps for ”places” and “locations” it allows to visualize moves, travels, emigrations or any other kind of movements in your family history in an unprecedented way.

MyBlood will also bring a more natural way of working with any kind of media files like tagging people on pictures like many social network sites tend to do nowadays.

About Vertical Horizon

Vertical Horizon is an independent, Belgium based, start-up company that brings together the power of personal computing with in depth knowledge of genealogy. This resulted in the development of MyBlood, a state of the art genealogy application.

Vertical Horizon was started by seasoned and experienced IT professionals with a passion for genealogy. The Antwerp based company is owned and financed by its management team.

In the 1940s and '50s hundreds of thousands of Jews, many still reeling from the Holocaust, arrived in France. Officials urged Jewish emigres to change their names to sound more French. There was no legal obligation for them to drop their family names, but they often were encouraged to do so.

Two generations later, Jews are feeling a need to reconnect with their roots. They are trying to persuade France's State Council to allow them to return to the family names their parents and grandparents gave up when they arrived here after World War II. There is but one problem: French law doesn't allow for reverting to "foreign sounding" names.
You can read more in an article by Kim Willsher in the Los Angeles Times at http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-france-jews-20100718,0,307074.story

The findmypast.co.uk blog tells of new records recently added to the site: 277,834 new Thames and Medway parish baptism records on the site for the period 1721 to 1970.

These baptisms are transcriptions, not indexes, and include, among others, such key London historical periphery parishes as those in Brentford, Deptford, Ealing, Greenwich and Rotherhithe. As well as the Thames-side parishes, the coverage extends down the estuary and the north Kent coast to the Medway towns. This release of records represents the first part of a collection licensed from local specialist Rob Cottrell.
findmypast.co.uk also plans to publish burial records in August and marriage records soon after. In due course, occupational records of Thames watermen and lightermen will also go online at findmypast.co.uk

You can search the parish baptisms for your Thames and Medway ancestors at http://www.findmypast.co.uk/parish-records-collection-search-start.action?redef=0&event=B

Newsletter reader Jim Anderson wrote to point out a story that should be of interest to officers and members of all genealogy societies in the US. As of October 15, thousands of small non-profit organizations, including many genealogical and historical societies, may lose their tax exempt status if they don't take advantage of a “one time relief” for missing their filing date.
For instance, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts alone, more than 7,900 non-profit organizations are at risk of losing their tax status. The list includes all sorts of non-profit organizations, not just genealogical and historical societies. Performing a quick scan down the list, I noticed that the Central Massachusetts Genealogical Society Inc., the Adams Historical Society Inc., the Ashburnham Historical Society Inc., the Billerica Historical Preservation Corporation, the Bolton Historical Society, and many others on the list.

You might want to check to see if YOUR organization is on the list at http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=225889,00.html

The following is a Plus Edition article, written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.
Some PDF files can be searched for any word or phrase. Other PDF files cannot. Until recently, the ability to allow searches was at the PDF file creator's option: anyone who created a PDF file could decide whether or not to make the files searchable. That option has now become moot as several companies have created solutions to convert any non-searchable PDF files into searchable PDF files, regardless of what the file creator intended.

Why should you care? I would suggest there are many needs for genealogists to search PDF files. For one example, the books you download from Google Books are non-searchable PDF files. Wouldn't it be a help to be able to search every word in those books for specific names, locations, or even occupations? That is but one of hundreds of reasons you might want to search a PDF file.

In a series of articles, I will describe three of those solutions:

1. The first is this article that describes an easy method that will work with Windows or Macintosh, but costs quite a bit of money.
2. The second article will describe a rather inexpensive (but not free) method of converting non-searchable PDFs into searchable PDFs by using a Macintosh.
3. The third article will describe a free, but rather complex, method of converting non-searchable PDFs to searchable PDFs on any Windows, Macintosh, or Linux system but may require a second computer or a virtual computer. The second computer must be a PC, although it can be an older, obsolete PC that you have lying around in the closet. Yes, it's complex, but it’s also free, assuming you already have the required hardware. Quite often I will expend extra time and effort to save hard-earned cash. Perhaps you do the same.

The remainder of this article is for Plus Edition subscribers only.

If you have a Plus Edition user ID and password, you can read the full article right now at no additional charge in this web site's Plus Edition at http://eogn.com/wp/?p=10807. This article will remain online for several weeks.

If you do not remember your Plus Edition user ID or password, you can retrieve them at http://www.eogn.com/wp/ and click on "Forgot password?"

If you decide to subscribe to the Plus Edition right now, you will be able to immediately read this article online.

For more information about subscribing to the Plus Edition of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, visit http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/plusedition.html.

I have written quite a bit lately about ebook readers. I started with an Amazon Kindle several years ago. Amazon has since introduced newer models and has dropped the price several times. Only a month ago, Amazon dropped the Kindle's price from $259 to $189 in response to the introduction of Barnes & Noble's new $140 WiFi-only Nook ebook reader. Today, Amazon announced a brand-new Kindle. The third-generation member of the Kindle family will sell in two versions: a 3G wireless version for $189 and a Wi-Fi-only version for $139.
The new Kindle will ship on August 27. Details may be found at http://tinyurl.com/2u5x7q4 and at http://www.amazon.com

100 years ago this month, Hawley Crippen was an American homeopathic physician who was arrested for the murder of his wife in London, England. His wife had disappeared and a dismembered body was found under the basement floor of their home Camden Road, Holloway, London. The body could not be identified.

Of course, DNA did not exist 100 years ago. Crippen was arrested, convicted, and later hanged for murder at Pentonville Prison, London. The mild-mannered murderer became a national celebrity and his waxwork stands in Madame Tussauds to this day However, a recent DNA analysis of preserved body parts of the victim have cast doubts on the case. The body found in the basement clearly wasn't that of Hawley Crippen's wife, Cora. In fact, it wasn't even the body of a woman!  The 100-year-old piece of skin skin contains Y-chromosomes, clearly indicating it was a man.
There is a lot more to this interesting story. You can read more in the BBC News web site at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10802059 and in Wikepedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawley_Crippen

So, who was buried in the basement? And what really happened to Cora?

FindMyPast.co.uk has just added 184,650 records and 1,003,794 images to the company's Chelsea Pensioners collection for the period 1760-1854. This brings the total amount of Chelsea Pensioner records and images on findmypast.co.uk to 691,520 records and 4,200,729 images.

These records are of men pensioned out of the British Army from 1760 through 1913. It is not limited to residents of The Royal Hospital at Chelsea. The records are referred to as the ‘Chelsea Pensioners’ because the office that administered the pensions was located in The Royal Hospital at Chelsea. That office kept the records for Chelsea Hospital residents (referred to as "in-pensioners") and non-residents (or "out-pensioners") alike. The great majority of pensioned soldiers were out-pensioners and did not reside at the Hospital itself.
The records are free to search, like all the records on findmypast.co.uk. If you find a record of interest, you do have to pay a fee to view the image of the original document. Even if you don’t think that any of your ancestors could have been Chelsea Pensioners, give searching the records a go. Your ancestor may have only served in the army for a short time before they were pensioned out.

Most of the records provide the soldier’s name, place of birth, regiment(s), year of discharge and dates of service within the British Army. They also contain detailed descriptions of a soldier’s physical appearance and any distinguishing features, such as tattoos or scars. The records are the next best thing to looking at a photograph of your ancestor; there are usually six or seven records for each soldier.

The Chelsea Pensioner records contain information about pensioned soldiers but not for sailors.

FindMyPast.co.uk will be adding another 5.6 million records to the Chelsea Pensioner Collection over the next fourteen months.

You might like to watch the video featuring Debra Chatfield and Caroline Kimball below that describes the collection.

Chelsea Pensioners Army Service Records - mini feature from findmypast.co.uk on Vimeo.

You can start your search at http://www.findmypast.co.uk/chelsea-pensioners-service-records-collection-search-start.action

I'm almost willing to travel to Fairbanks for this garage sale! If you live in or near Fairbanks, you might not want to miss this event. Candy Waugaman and her friends are again hosting a garage sale of historic proportions this weekend.

The noted Fairbanks collector and archivist of Alaskana will be offering books, photos, postcards, magazines, certificates, brochures, buttons, pins, panoramic photographs, glassware, furniture and “all kinds of ephemera” from Friday through Sunday.
The unique thing about this sale is that the proceeds all go to one or more good causes. You have your choice of directing funds to the Fairbanks Rescue Mission, the Literacy Council of Alaska, the local 4-H Clubs, the Pioneers of Alaska Museum or Hospice of the Tanana Valley.

Read more in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner at http://newsminer.com/bookmark/8924983-Fairbanks-archivist-hosts-historic-garage-sale-for-local-charities

With all the genealogical information being made accessible on the Internet, some might think this is the golden age of family history. To Curt B. Witcher, however, we may be entering a new dark age where vital records and the memories of people alive today are lost forever.

"At the same time we have more (technological) ability we are losing interest and focus on keeping the thoughts and the words for future generations," Witcher said.
Witcher, the manager of The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Ind., was the plenary speaker at BYU's Conference on Family History and Genealogy on Wednesday.

You can rea the full story in an article by Michael De Groote published in the Mormon Times at http://www.mormontimes.com/article/16144/The-coming-genealogical-dark-ages?s_cid=queue_title&utm_source=queue_title

Are you planning to attend the FGS conference in Knoxville? If so, bring your old family photographs! The following announcement was written by FamilySearch:

Schedule a Free Photo Detective Consultation at FGS with Maureen Taylor!

FamilySearch will be hosting Maureen Taylor, Photo Detective, as a free service to FGS conference goers in Knoxville, Tennessee August 18–21. The Photo Detective services will be offered as part of the FamilySearch booth’s activities in the exhibit hall during the conference.  Interested individuals can register for any available 10 minute session now online.  There are limited sessions available. Don’t delay! Register at http://photodetective.eventbrite.com/.

Registrants will have 10 minutes with Maureen during their scheduled time at the FamilySearch booth. It is recommended that you bring only ONE image/photo with you to the consultation. Be sure the photo you select fits one of the following criteria:

• An original photograph in a protective covering to prevent damage during transport.
• A high quality COLOR photographic copy of both the front and back of the image.
• A high resolution color scan (of at least 300dpi) of both sides of the photograph.

For the past 10 years, Maureen has been providing in-depth analysis of historical photos, primarily for people who are researching their family histories.  Maureen estimates that she’s studied over 10,000 photos in the past decade and The Wall Street Journal recently called her “the nation’s foremost historical photo detective.”  Maureen has been interested in old family photos since she was a child.  She has a graduate degree in history and has worked as a photo curator, genealogist, and writer. Combining all these interests as a photo identification/preservation expert, the focus of her work has centered on family photography, history and genealogy.

Maureen finds it extremely rewarding to be invited to play a part in piecing together the most important history of all – the story of your family! Don’t miss this terrific opportunity during your FGS stay in Knoxville, Tennessee!

Ancestry.com Inc., the world's largest online family history resource, today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 and the news was all good news:
Ancestry.com Subscriber Growth of 32% Year-Over-Year
Total Revenue Up 36% Year-Over-Year "Greater than anticipated subscriber additions drove impressive performance in the quarter and boosted our revenue and EBITDA expectations for the full year," said Tim Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of Ancestry.com. "It's particularly noteworthy that retention rates and customer behavior trends are remaining consistent despite the rapid subscriber growth in the first half of 2010. As we move forward, we will continue our focus on building awareness of the family history category, improving the customer experience and adding important content collections to Ancestry.com."
Ancestry.com Web Sites Highlights:

• Subscribers totaled 1,311,000 as of June 30, 2010, a 32% increase over the end of Q2 2009 and an 8% increase over the end of Q1 2010.
• Gross Subscriber additions were 291,000 in Q2 2010, an 81% increase over Q2 2009 and a 4% increase over Q1 2010, driven by the continued success of marketing programs and the airing of Who Do You Think You Are? early in the quarter.
• Monthly Subscriber Churn1 increased to 4.3% in Q2 2010, compared to 3.8% in Q2 2009 and 3.3% in Q1 2010, as expected, reflecting the large number of new monthly subscribers added in the first half of 2010.
• Subscriber acquisition cost2 in Q2 2010 was $74.04, compared to $73.27 in Q2 2009 and $69.57 in Q1 2010.
• Average Monthly Revenue per Subscriber3 in Q2 2010 was $18.02, compared to $16.42 in Q2 2009 and $16.70 in Q1 2010.

Second Quarter 2010 Financial Highlights:

• Total revenue for the second quarter of 2010 was $74.5 million, an increase of 36.4% over $54.6 million in the prior year period, driven by growth in our core Ancestry.com Web sites of 41.9%.
• Operating income for the second quarter of 2010 was $15.8 million, compared to $8.7 million in the prior year period.
• Adjusted EBITDA4 for the second quarter of 2010 was $25.3 million, compared to $18.4 million in the second quarter of 2009. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the second quarter of 2010 was 33.9%, compared to 33.8% in the second quarter of 2009.
• Net income was $8.5 million, or $0.18 per fully diluted share, for the second quarter of 2010 compared to $4.7 million, or $0.12 per fully diluted share, in the second quarter of 2009.
• Free cash flow5 totaled $14.4 million in the second quarter of 2010 compared to $6.7 million in the prior year period.
• Balance sheet As of June 30, 2010, cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments were $134.0 million and total debt was $76.2 million.

Recent Business Highlights:

• The Company closed the acquisition of Genline.se, the leading Swedish family history Web site. At closing, Genline had more than 17,000 paying members with access to 26 million pages of digitized Swedish church records spanning more than 400 years from the 17th to the 20th century.
• NBC announced its renewal of Who Do You Think You Are? for a second season, which is currently expected to air in the first quarter of 2011.
• Season 1 of Who Do You Think You Are? is currently expected to air in re-runs starting on August 13, 2010.
• The Company added several new important content collections, including U.S. Land Ownership Atlases from 1860-1920 and the UK Waterloo Medal Roll from 1815.

It’s always fun to find records about your ancestors. It’s even more exciting to discover records that you never knew existed. But how do you find these records when you didn’t even know to look for them?

Here’s where the Ancestry.com community can help you. Ever notice the Member Connect panel when you’re looking at a record image? We show you other members who have saved the record you’re viewing to their tree so that you can check out their research and contact them.

Last night we released an enhancement to the Member Connect panel. If members have saved the record you’re viewing to someone in their tree, we’ll now show you other records they have saved to the same person in their tree. We show you both the name of the record and how many people have saved it to their tree. Look through the list of records saved by the other members and you may discover an elusive record you could never find– or never thought to look for.

Don’t see other records?

If no one else has saved the record you’re viewing or no one else has saved other records for this person to their tree, then this new section won’t appear in the Member Connect panel.

If you don’t see the Member Connect panel on the page, it’s likely because you have it collapsed. You can open the panel by clicking on the arrow button on the right side of the screen.

The following announcement was written by the National Park Service:
NEW YORK, New York, July 28, 2010 - The National Park Service has awarded more than $29 million in contracts to repair the seawall on Ellis Island in New York Harbor, remove contaminants from one of the island's historic buildings and upgrade the communications infrastructure.

Opened on January 1, 1892, Ellis Island became the nation's premier federal immigration station, processing more than 12 million immigrant steamship passengers before it was closed in 1954. Today, over 100 million Americans, one third of the population, can trace their ancestry to the immigrants who first arrived in America at Ellis Island.
Ellis Island is located just off the New Jersey coast, within the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. A 1998 United States Supreme Court decision found most of the island to be part of New Jersey. Restored buildings on the island host a museum of immigration run by the National Park Service as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.

The newly funded projects, all scheduled to start this summer, are part of President Barack Obama's economic recovery program and will provide jobs and economic stimulation to the region's economy while restoring one of our nation's most treasured historic sites, said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and U.S. Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey announcing the funding on Tuesday.

"These three projects funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide more employment opportunities to workers in the region while safeguarding the site where many of our ancestors first stepped ashore in the New World. The Recovery Act will leave a lasting legacy in America's great outdoors, while putting people back to work and strengthening our economy," Salazar said.

Indian tribes had called it "Kioshk" or Gull Island and it was known for its abundant oyster beds and plentiful shad runs. Samuel Ellis became the island's private owner in the 1770s, around the time of the American Revolution.

Through the years, this gateway to the new world was enlarged from its original 3.3 acres to 27.5 acres by landfill obtained from the ballast of ships, and excess earth from the construction of the New York City subway system.

In addition to serving as an immigration center, Ellis Island was used as a detention center for enemy aliens during World War II. It was also a processing center for returning sick or wounded U.S. soldiers, and a Coast Guard training base.
Visitors at the Ellis Island seawall with the Statue of Liberty behind them (Photo by B. Brelje)

"Ellis Island tells the story of our nation and connects millions of American families to their past, and I am pleased that we can finally begin to preserve it for future generations," said Senator Menendez.

"This federal investment will not only begin to secure the seawall and maintain buildings on the island, it will create hundreds of jobs that will support the region's economy. An enhanced communication system will also protect this iconic, historic site from any threats."

The Park Service has awarded a $20.9 million contract to Phoenix Marine Co. Inc. of Sayreville, New Jersey to repair Ellis Island's 6,700 foot long seawall. Small portions of the seawall have been stabilized and rehabilitated since the original construction, but the majority of the seawall shows deterioration.

A second contract for $6.7 million has been awarded to APS Contractors of Paterson, New Jersey to stabilize the deteriorated Baggage and Dormitory Building on Ellis Island, remove environmental contaminants, and install a temporary new roof.

The third contract for $1.5 million has been awarded to Cutting Edge Group, based in Lake George, New York to install electrical and communication infrastructure in conduit on Liberty and Ellis islands. The project will allow the National Park Service to better communicate between the islands and the mainland.

"These infrastructure improvements represent a significant investment in the future of two of America's most treasured icons," said David Luchsinger, superintendent of Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island. "These have been priority projects for this park for some time, and we are pleased that they will now be funded through the Recovery Act."

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed last year gave $3 billion to the Department of the Interior. Of that amount, $750 million in funding goes to the National Park Service.

More than $30 billion in Recovery funds has been made available to New York and more than $18.6 billion has already been spent. Meanwhile, more than $10 billion in Recovery funds has been made available to New Jersey and more than $7.4 billion has already been spent.

MacFamilyTree 6 has arrived. The latest version of the Macintosh genealogy program has been in public beta test for several weeks. (See my earlier article at http://tinyurl.com/2awyyb3.) Now the beta period has ended and the program is declared ready.

MacFamilyTree's new version 6 is claimed to be the most significant update in program's 12 year-long product history. Notable new features include:

• a brand-new user interface
• more and completely rewritten charts
• more reports
• integration of "New FamilySearch" for online research (currently in closed beta, available for all users by the end of 2010)
• To Do management
• web research
• greatly improved performance
• on any recent Mac with Mac OS X 10.6 installed, MacFamilyTree 6 is executed as a 64-bit application, squeezing out even that last bit of performance
• the new Family Tree Editor, a much enhanced version of the former Family Assistant, gives you both the structure, as well as the details. You'll see who is related to whom without searching lengthy lists, while editing a person's information is just a click away.

MacFamilyTree 6 costs $49 USD for new customers, upgrades from MacFamilyTree 1,2,3,4,5 are $25 USD. Mac OS X 10.5 or higher is required.

For more detailed information, look at http://www.syniumsoftware.com/macfamilytree/ or look at the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhmZt00rYaE or click on the image below:

GedView is an iPhone/iPod/iPad viewer and recording tool for your genealogy database when you are out and about researching local records, or visiting locations such as graveyards looking for information. GedView acts as a way to quickly check up on family relationships, dates/locations of events, sources of information, and view your notes, or record newly found information while you are out researching.  It is compatible with all iPhone/iPod/iPad devices running iOS 3.0 or above. Now author David A Knight has released a new version: 2.14.2 .

You can read my earlier review of GedView at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/07/gedview-for-the-iphone.html.

GedView works with any desktop genealogy program for Windows, Macintosh, or Linux. It imports data from standard GEDCOM files. All of today's genealogy programs can create GEDCOM files. GedView will:

• Import GEDCOM files by download over GPRS, EDGE, 3G,or WiFi
• Import GEDCOM files by uploading over WiFi (Bonjour supported)
• Import GEDCOM files from email attachments (2.14 and above, iPad / iOS4 and above)
• Import GEDCOM files from other apps, such as Safari or Dropbox. Compatible sites include RootsWeb, Ancestry, and FamilySearch(2.14 and above, iPad / iOS4 and above)
• Import GEDCOM files over USB cable via iTunes. (2.14 and above, iPad / iOS4 and above)
• Import zip compressed GEDCOM files. (2.14.2 and above)

GedView costs $3.99 US, £2.39, €2.99, $4.99 AU and is available at the iPhone/iPod/iPad App Store. You might want to read about it at http://www.ritter.demon.co.uk/Projects/gedview.html

Ancestry.com Inc. (ACOM) is scheduled to announce earnings after the market closes on Thursday, July 29th. The consensus amongst most analysts is that ACOM is going to announce a profit of about 15 cents per share.

ACOM has gained 37 cents (2.04 percent) during the past week and is currently trading above its 20-day, 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

The following was written by the Michigan Genealogical Council:

Dear Genealogists,
There has been some confusion and some misinterpretation about the MCIR Board report released by Governor Granholm.  With so much uncertainty surrounding the collections and the Library of Michigan this past year, rumors and misinterpretations increase exponentially each time they are repeated.
 The MCIR Board was appointed to serve in an advisory capacity to the Governor.  We are pleased with their conclusions and recommendations regarding the genealogical collections at the Library of Michigan (LM); however, the recommendations are just that; advisory recommendations.  The Governor will decide if she wishes to follow those recommendations.
 
Also, this is only one piece in the puzzle in the future of the collections at the Library of Michigan.  The Michigan Department of Education (MDE), is the department responsible for the administration of the Library.  They do this following the mandates and budget guidelines given them by the Governor and any legislation passed and signed into law by the Governor.
 
Unfortunately, with a projected 23 percent cut in funding proposed for fiscal year 2010-2011 (beginning October 1, 2010), MDE and the Library of Michigan have difficult choices to make.  These were spelled out in their February 12 memo that detailed how MDE and LM were going to comply with the cost saving measures dictated by the two Executive Orders issued last year, and still maintain a high-level of service and accessibility with their core collections.
 
Randy Riley, Special Collections Manager for the Library of Michigan issued the following statement recently to clarify several misunderstandings and faulty conclusions:
 
“The state’s current budget situation has required the Library of Michigan focus more closely on our core missions of collecting/documenting the history and heritage of Michigan and maintaining materials that assist state government agencies in doing their work. Facing a 23% reduction in the budget for the next fiscal year, the Library has been forced to re-examine every program and service. The Library’s staff will be “weeding” the Dewey and Main Collections in an effort to keep items that “fit” the core mission. After staff have thoroughly gone through the Dewey (4th floor) and Main (3rd floor) Collections and pulled items that align with our primary mission, Michigan libraries will be invited in to claim the remaining parts of those collections. The change of hours is temporary. It will allow staff to have the necessary time to work with the collections and evaluate the materials in question.
 
NO PLANS ARE IN PLACE AT THIS TIME TO MOVE THE NON-MICHIGAN FAMILY HISTORY COLLECTION TO THE ARCHIVES OR ANY OTHER INSTITUTION. Staff will only be working with the Dewey and Main Collections during the reduced hours. The family history collection will be accessible 1-5 (M-F) and 10-5 on Saturdays until September 7. Regular hours will resume on the 7th. If you have questions contact the Library of Michigan at (517) 373-1300 or librarian@michigan.gov.
 
Thanks for your support and kind wishes.”
 
As Randy has stated, currently nothing has changed as far as the availability of the genealogy collections at the Library of Michigan.  Hours of operation will be TEMPORARILY reduced from Aug 2 thru September 3 to permit staff to prepare the Main (third floor) and Dewey (fourth floor) collections to be distributed to other Michigan Libraries.  Items of genealogical and historical significance are being separated by staff to be added to the Michigan and Genealogy—both Michigan and non-Michigan – collections.
 
Nothing will be resolved until a new budget passes.  When this happens, final decisions will be made by the Library administration on the future hours, staffing, and services offered by the Library of Michigan.  Anything offered up before that is only speculation.
 
For the latest factual information about Library of Michigan operations, collections and services, visit http://michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan.  You may also contact them by phone (517) 373-1300 or e-mail librarian@michigan.gov.
 
We will continue to update you as the situation necessitates.
 
Best wishes,
 
Tom Koselka, Legislative Liaison
Michigan Genealogical Council
http://mimgc.org

The 1802 Militia Survey is more than just a military record - it's a list of every man in the Burgh of Perth aged 18 to 45 in the area who was suitable for service, 40 years before the first official census. Each return includes the address, the householder's name and occupation, and a list of the eligible inhabitants. It serves as a great census substitute.

In 1802, a form was sent out to householders within the Burgh of Perth requiring them to list the name of every man in their house aged 18 to 45, who was liable for service with the militia. The returns may include:

• Name of the householder
• Occupation of the householder
• Street address
• Names of any inhabitants eligible for service

Names of women appear only if they are the householder.

The 1802 Militia Survey is available to Ancestry.co.uk subscribers and to subscribers to Ancestry.com's World Deluxe Membership at http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1642

The following announcement was written by Art.com Inc.:
Seasoned Marketing Executive Andrew Wait Joins as Chief Marketing Officer for World's Leading Online Specialty Wall Art Retailer

SAN FRANCISCO, July 27 -- Art.com Inc., the world's leading online specialty provider of wall art products and services, today announced the hiring of Andrew Wait as chief marketing officer.  Wait brings more than twenty years of marketing, merchandising, and product development experience to this position.  He will oversee Art.com Inc.'s overall marketing operations and strategy, including online marketing, international marketing, user experience and product management, branding and business development. "We are very pleased to welcome Andrew to the Art.com Inc. executive team," said Geoffroy Martin, chief executive officer of Art.com Inc. "His proven track record for driving top-line growth and increasing brand awareness through innovative marketing campaigns and programs will be instrumental to the success and profitable growth of our global business."

Before joining Art.com Inc., Wait served as senior vice president and general manager of Ancestry.com, the world's largest online resource for family history, where he led marketing, content acquisition, business development, product management and engineering for the U.S. region.  Prior to Ancestry.com, Wait was senior director of marketing at Kodak Gallery, a leading online digital photo developing service. During his tenure at Kodak Gallery, Wait helped the company generate significant growth in customers and overall revenue through innovative direct marketing and customer loyalty programs, effective merchandising and usability improvements.  Before joining Kodak Gallery, Wait was senior director of marketing for EarthLink's PeoplePC Brand, where he oversaw customer acquisition, retention and brand development. Earlier in his career, he also held various executive marketing positions with Pacific Bell/SBC, Bank of America and Hilton Hotels Corporation.  Wait holds an MBA from St. Mary's College of California and a BA from the University of California at Berkeley.

"Art.com Inc. has built an incredible set of brands with over 10 million customers worldwide," said Wait.  "I'm excited to take on the marketing reins and look forward to helping the company achieve higher levels of customer and revenue growth."

About Art.com Inc.

Art.com Inc. is the world's leading online specialty provider of posters, prints, and framed art.  Since 1998, Art.com Inc. has sold high-quality wall art online to more than 10 million customers – including home decorators, interior designers, businesses, art collectors, and art lovers – in over 120 countries worldwide.  The privately-held company is headquartered in Emeryville, CA, with other facilities in Ohio, North Carolina and the Netherlands.  For more information, visit www.art.com and www.AllPosters.com.  "art.com" and "AllPosters" are registered trademarks of Art.com Inc.