Family Village is a game that you can play through Facebook. Unlike Farmville, (or any of the other games made by Zynga), Family Village involves genealogy. You have your relatives immigrate into your village, and the game attempts to find relevant links to genealogy materials connected to them. What happens if you accidentally ignore your Family Village? In some ways, this game is a little bit like a smaller version of the Sims, with a genealogy twist to it. First, you add one of your relatives, or ancestors, into the family tree that is a part of the Family Village … Continue reading →

Today, parents often give their newborns a name that was inspired by popular culture. This is not a new phenomena. If you take a close look at the baby names that were popular about one hundred years ago, you will find that your ancestors were also inspired by popular culture when they named their babies. Perhaps one of your ancestors was named after someone who was famous in 1910. In many ways, day to day life is very different now, than it was around one hundred years ago. Your ancestors didn’t have cell phones, access to the internet, or big … Continue reading →

Genealogists can learn quite a bit from the first names of their ancestors. Sometimes, a first name can give you clues about the heritage of an ancestor. There are many families who have certain names that are handed down from one generation to another one. Often, though, parents are inspired by the popular culture when they name their babies. A first name can give a glimpse into what your ancestor’s social world was like. There is now a list of the most popular baby names for 2010, for both boys and girls, which comes from data compiled by the Social … Continue reading →

When you think about it, there are a lot of things about genealogy that make it the perfect hobby for geeks. Although genealogy once was considered a pass time for the elders to partake in, this is no longer the case. Perhaps all those television programs that have delved into genealogy are exactly what has increased the popularity of the hobby. In any case, genealogy is something that could very easily attract geeks. Now, before we go any further, let me make it clear that I am not picking on people who are geeks, or nerds, or whatever the proper … Continue reading →

By now, you have probably heard of the show called “Who Do You Think You Are?”. It is the TV program that combines genealogy and the personal family lives of celebrities. If you happened to miss an episode of the show, you can catch the episodes from Season Two online, right now. There are two versions of the “Who Do You Think You Are?” television program. There is an American version, and a UK version, and each one features celebrities that would be easily recognized by their target audience. The show is connected with the well known genealogy website Ancestry.com. … Continue reading →

The Mona Lisa is one of the most easily recognized paintings. Even those who have little interest in Art History can identify the Mona Lisa. This is a painting that has a lot of mystery surrounding it. One of those mysteries is leading historians to exhume the body of the woman who is believed to have been the model for this famous painting. The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci between 1503 and 1506. He painted this portrait when he was in Florence, Italy, but the painting itself currently is located in the Louvre Museum in France. For … Continue reading →

Strange things happen when companies try to market to genealogists. The obvious choice would be for a company to offer to make your family tree into a beautiful piece of artwork. It would make a certain amount of sense for a company to make customized t-shirts or coffee mugs with a surname printed on them. Sometimes, though you end up with some really bizarre items, instead. You have probably heard of companies that sell DNA testing kits. These have been marketed to genealogists for two primary reasons. The company can analyze your DNA and point out other customers whose DNA … Continue reading →

How do you know when you are done with your genealogy research? Is it when you complete your current project? Will you be finished when your interest wains, or when you hit a brick wall that you cannot find a way around? Many genealogists would describe themselves as addicted to their favorite hobby. Could it be that genealogy doesn’t have actually have an endpoint? In many ways, genealogy is a “never ending story”. You may have started your family tree with little more than the names and birth dates of the relatives who you lived in the same house with … Continue reading →

Want to have some fun, and work on your genealogy research at the same time? A genealogy related game called Family Village is now accessible through Facebook. It is currently in the alpha testing stage. You can use this game to help build your family tree. Last time I wrote about the Family Village game it was in the process of doing whatever it is that is necessary in order for a game to appear on Facebook. If you are playing Farmville, or Frontierville, two incredibly popular and addicting games created by the Zynga game company, then you will have … Continue reading →

There is an enemy out there that could sneak up on any genealogist at any time. All genealogists, from the amateur that started her research today to the professional that helps others with tough family history detective work, no one is immune from attack. The enemy that I speak of is not poor vision caused by squinting at tiny print on ancient records or spending hours on the computer doing research, nor is it an inability to speak in anything other than a whisper due to spending so much time in the library. Who, or what, then is this enemy … Continue reading →