The Genealogy Guys Podcast & Genealogy Connection

George G. Morgan & Drew Smith

"The Genealogy Guys" are two avid genealogists who host a weekly chat. The podcast includes news of the genealogy community, book and software reviews, guest interviews, and a lot of fun chat.

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526 episodes
Updated July 13

Episodes526

Newest first

Dec 5, 2006 · 59 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 4 December 2006
As December begins, George suggests a place to shop for genealogy gifts: The Ancestry Store (theancestrystore.com), and he announces the new 1851 and 1861 Scotland census databases. George also mentions the new test for U.S. citizenship. The mailbag brings information about newspaper projects (www.library.uiuc.edu/inp and www.neh.gov/projects/usnp.html), and a question about a Texas application for a mortuary warrant. Drew interviews Deborah Abbott about collateral lines research, slaveholder records, and things not to be overlooked on the U.S. census. Finally, Drew thanks a listener for visiting the grave of Drew's uncle and sending along photos from the U.S. military cemetery near Cambridge, England.
Nov 28, 2006 · 56 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 27 November 2006
After some brief items from genealogy news and listener mailbag, George and Drew discuss the recent Thanksgiving visit of George's relatives (including their photos and other family materials), and give their opinions about the relative merits of genealogy cruises vs. national genealogy conferences. Fletcher the cat weighs in near the end of the podcast, but it turns out later that she is merely happy to have re-discovered a long-lost stuffed cat toy.
Nov 20, 2006 · 55 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 19 November 2006
George announces the new Ancestry.com store (theancestrystore.com), and reminds listeners of Ancestry's new German genealogical site (ancestry.de). George shares listener e-mail about Canadian passenger lists at Collections Canada (www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/passenger/). George also talks about using the Internet Public Library to find links to newspaper sites (www.ipl.org). Drew talks about using newspapers, including the NewsBank database Access World News. George shares a tip about using date ranges in Google. And Drew mentions metasearch tools, including the Copernic Agent Basic software (www.copernic.com).
Nov 14, 2006 · 59 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 13 November 2006
George returns from speaking at the Florida State Genealogical Society conference in Melbourne, and spreads the news about the new passenger lists at Ancestry.com. Drew talks about two new services that provide a way to listen to podcasts (including the Genealogy Guys Podcast) using an ordinary phone: Podlinez (podlinez.com) and Fonpods (fonpods.com). Drew shares his interview with Irish genealogical expert Eileen O'Duill. Drew also receives a two-volume family history in the mail that gives details about his Eidson ancestry, and he talks about the virtual world of Second Life (secondlife.com), where librarians and genealogists are collaborating on new ways to teach and learn genealogy.
Nov 7, 2006 · 57 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 6 November 2006
George and Drew return from the genealogy cruise and give listeners an idea of what it is like. Drew also shares his visit to a cemetery on St. Maarten. The first issue of Digital Genealogist (which includes an article by Drew) is now available for free online at www.digitalgenealogist.com. George announces a new Welsh database, and reminds listeners of the November special for RootsMagic's new software, Family Atlas.
Oct 28, 2006 · 57 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 27 October 2006
George announces Ancestorsonboard.com, a new database for passenger lists for those leaving the British Isles between 1890 and 1960. Other topics include the new online magazine, Digital Genealogist; and the new GenealogyBank.com database service; George and Drew dig into the podcast listener mailbag and discuss such topics as a fascinating story from a cemetery visit, strange 1820 U.S. Federal census columns, birth information supplied to the Social Security Administration, and death dates that appear in the Social Security Death Index. Podcast listeners are also encouraged to check out the genealogy segments appearing on ABC's Good Morning America show.
Oct 24, 2006 · 59 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 23 October 2006
George and Drew mention the new Internet Explorer 7 and Mozilla Firefox 2.0 browsers. Ancestry.com has added German content. George and Drew have taken their first look at the new NewsBank genealogy databases product, GenealogyBank.com. George discusses an online map browsing service for Ireland, www.pasthomes.com. Drew interviews genealogy blogger Steve Danko (www.stephendanko.com) and discusses his research into his Polish ancestry. Finally, George and Drew talk about how easy it is to set up a genealogy research blog using Blogger or LiveJournal, and they also discuss some techniques in using pre-1850 U.S. censuses. Drew invites listeners to visit his personal research blog at drewsmith-genealogy.blogspot.com.
Oct 17, 2006 · 57 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 16 October 2006
George announces RootsMagic's new software product, Family Atlas, and its introductory price (www.familyatlas.com/introspecial.htm). Drew interviews professional genealogist Linda Woodward Geiger, where they talk about things to avoid when creating genealogy websites, what goes on in a state chapter meeting of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the fun of "ancestor roadshows" at state and national conferences, and the Regional In-depth Genealogical Studies Alliance (www.rigsalliance.org). Finally, George and Drew discuss the importance of geography in genealogical research, and suggest a number of books as well as online historical map collections (the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection at www.davidrumsey.com, and the Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection, UT-Austin at www.lib.utexas.edu/maps).
Oct 10, 2006 · 56 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 9 October 2006
News includes the new RootsTelevision site (www.rootstelevision.com). Drew shares his interview with Paul Milner, where they discuss Paul's career and Paul offers advice on conducting British research. George talks about the usefulness of voter registration records. Finally, has George discovered that he and Drew are related? Listen and find out!
Oct 2, 2006 · 58 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 2 October 2006
News items include the tragic death of genealogy librarian Ryan Taylor, an update to last week's naturalization topic including the Italian Genealogical Group's database project (www.italiangen.org/databaselist.stm), the upcoming conference of the North Carolina Genealogical Society (www.ncgenealogy.org) in Raleigh, the soon-to-be-available first issue of Digital Genealogist (www.digitalgenealogist.com), the availability of British Telecom telephone books on Ancestry.com, and George's book regarding London research repositories (www.lulu.com/content/253150). George suggests things to do during Family History Month and swaps stories with Drew regarding genealogical serendipity. Drew shares his interview with well-known genealogist Laura Prescott.
Sep 25, 2006 · 51 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 21 September 2006
George and Drew take the Genealogy Guys Podcast on the road to a monthly meeting of the Lee County Genealogical Society in Ft. Myers, Florida, where they discuss naturalization and take questions from the audience. They share images of naturalization records and Drew points out the great example of Steve Danko's blog (www.stephendanko.com). Drew also shares a statement from Chris Cowan, Vice President of Publishing for ProQuest Information and Learning, announcing the latest updates to the PERSI database available through HeritageQuest Online.
Sep 18, 2006 · 56 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 17 September 2006
Drew interviews Audrey Collins, a reader advisor from The National Archives' Family Records Centre in London (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/visit/planfrc.htm). George and Drew discuss the past Saturday's annual fall seminar of the Florida Genealogical Society (Tampa), and the amount of work that goes into planning and executing an all-day genealogy seminar. The Genealogy Guys also pass along a few genealogical research tips and techniques they learned from the seminar's speaker, Hank Jones (www.hankjones.com), an expert on Palatine research and a collector of interesting and unusual stories of genealogical research experiences.
Sep 11, 2006 · 57 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 10 September 2006
George and Drew discuss how to find out about our ancestors' occupations. [Note: The correct URL for the USGenWeb page giving explanations of old occupation names is http://www.usgenweb.org/research/occupations.shtml]Drew shares an interview with Maureen Taylor (the Photo Detective) and David Lambert (of the New England Historic Genealogical Society) and their project involving photographs of individuals associated with the American Revolutionary War. For details, visit http://www.maureentaylor.com/projects.htmlOther topics include the results of the NARA access petition drive, the availability of FGS 2006 conference recordings at http://stores.lulu.com/fgs2006. The Genealogy Guys also recommend a visit to fellow genealogist Steve Danko's blog (www.stephendanko.com).
Sep 5, 2006 · 59 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 4 September 2006
George and Drew return from Boston with a report of highlights from the 2006 Federation of Genealogical Societies conference. George also talks about the urgent petition regarding a proposed reduction in NARA research hours (www.petitiononline.com/FGS2006/petition.html) which must be submitted no later than September 8; the brochure for the Genealogy Guys' 2007 Research Tour to London is now online (see the menu on this site); George points out a serious problem with the way ProQuest is applying updates to the PERSI database; and the locations of the next two FGS conferences are announced. Information about the Association of Personal Historians conference (www.personalhistorians.org) in Portland on October 4-8 is provided, and George mentions a name thesaurus (www.namethesaurus.com/Thesaurus/Search.asp).
Aug 28, 2006 · 57 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 27 August 2006
Just before the Genealogy Guys head off for the FGS Conference in Boston, Drew announces the Ebenezer, GA Heritage Day Festival on Labor Day for Salzburgers (www.georgiasalzburgers.com) and the University of Washington Extension Program's Genealogy and Family History Certificate (www.extension.washington.edu/ext/certificates/gfh/gfh_mtg.asp), and shares listener tips regarding both WorldCat and state archives. George and Drew outline what topics they'll be addressing at the FGS Conference, and the Guys will also be at the Lee County Genealogical Society in Ft. Myers, Florida on September 20 to produce a "live" podcast. George's "Along Those Lines" column will start being seen on September 7th in the Signal Hill Tribune in Signal Hill, California (thanks to a podcast listener). Drew shares his recent experience participating in a Skypecast moderated by Dick Eastman, both of the Guys talk in detail about next year's research trip to London (e-mail classes@ahaseminars.com for more info), and a listener question about a gas station leads to a discussion about locating information about businesses.
Aug 21, 2006 · 59 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 20 August 2006
George talks about two January 2007 events in Salt Lake City: the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (www.infouga.org) and the NGS Research Trip (www.ngsgenealogy.org/edutripsaltlake.cfm). George and Drew are especially pleased to announce the 2007 Genealogy Guys Research Trip to London (July 14-24). (If you want to be placed on the list to receive information, please send an e-mail to classes@ahaseminars.com.) The Guys then share some recent research stories involving friends, including locating a hard-to-find marriage certificate in England, and identifying resources to find out more about a New Mexico rancher. Drew brings listeners up-to-date about the migration of RootsWeb's genealogy mailing lists to new software, and then discusses the issue of Virginia's independent cities. Finally, George reviews the latest edition of The Source.
Aug 14, 2006 · 57 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 13 August 2006
As the days count down toward the Federation of Genealogical Society's upcoming Boston conference, Drew and George announce that Paul Milner is a new co-leader for the National Genealogical Society's Britain and Ireland Forum (www.ngsgenealogy.org/forums/britainirelandforum.cfm), and that NGS is sponsoring a January 2007 research trip to Salt Lake City (www.ngsgenealogy.org/edutripsaltlake.cfm). Following up on last week's episode regarding boxer Bob Fitzsimmons, a listener reminds the Guys about Find A Grave (www.findagrave.com). George announces Liz Kerstens' new e-magazine Digital Genealogist (www.digitalgenealogist.com). After George discusses tips for deciphering old documents (handwriting, abbreviations, and language), Drew alerts listeners to upcoming changes for RootsWeb mailing lists (lists.rootsweb.com) and to a new way to access the WorldCat database (worldcat.org). George ends the episode by sharing ways to keep track of what census columns mean, using the census charts at Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com/trees/charts/census.aspx).
Aug 7, 2006 · 57 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 6 August 2006
Back in Tampa, Drew and George try out their new podcasting equipment, two new microphones and a mixer, and listeners are encouraged to give feedback regarding the sound. Drew reminds listeners of the upcoming August 13-18 conference of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies in New York (www.iajgs.org). George talks about family reunions and how they can be a good source of genealogical information. Drew recommends using the GNIS service of the USGS (geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/) to locate and map U.S. locations. And a message from a New Zealand listener leads to a discussion of a Chicago cemetery and the life of a famous heavyweight boxer.
Aug 1, 2006 · 55 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 31 July 2006
Drew shares his interviews with Matt Helm regarding Matt's new HistoryKat.com subscription web service, and with Bill Forsyth of ProQuest regarding their many genealogy-related databases. Drew also shares some audio clips of his trip with George to Atlanta and Rome, Georgia, with the highlight being a visit to the Myrtle Hill Cemetery. While George returns to Tampa to work on a new book, Drew continues on to Newberry, South Carolina to visit with family.
Jul 24, 2006 · 59 min
The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 23 July 2006
George announces the upcoming annual conference of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (www.bifhsgo.ca) and makes a correction about a date for Canadian censuses in a previous podcast, and Drew mentions a handy website for viewing Canadian boundary changes over time (atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution). Continuing along a Canadian theme, Drew interviews Louise St. Denis of the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (www.genealogicalstudies.com), a Canadian-based educational institution providing distance education to genealogists all over the world. George shares some websites for Moravian researchers, including www.enter.net/~smschlack, www.moravianarchives.org, and www.moravianchurcharchives.org. Drew announces the new WorldCat.org site for searching library records. And George interviews Drew about the upcoming FGS conference in Boston (www.fgs.org).

The Genealogy Guys Podcast & Genealogy Connection

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 4 December 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 27 November 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 19 November 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 13 November 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 6 November 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 27 October 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 23 October 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 16 October 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 9 October 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 2 October 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 21 September 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 17 September 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 10 September 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 4 September 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 27 August 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 20 August 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 13 August 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 6 August 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 31 July 2006

The Genealogy Guys Podcast - 23 July 2006