Ancestry ProTools subscription rolled out to UK - includes DNA Enhanced Shared Matches tool

Ancestry is now making available its new ProTools subscription, at £4.99 a month. This adds a few bells and whistles for you to help check your tree and to search your DNA results. 

By far the most useful tool is its new Enhanced Shared Matches facility for DNA results. This basically allows you to note how many centimorgans both you and a match may share with other matches, and how you and the other match may be related to any other shared matches. I've been exploring it for a couple of days now, and whilst I have not made any breakthroughs yet using it, it certainly is a worthwhile enhancement - although it is a bit of a poor show that it can only be accessed by paying for yet another subscription on top of the one I already have. There's more on the tool at https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/AncestryDNA-Shared-Matches?language=en_US.

I intend to use this upgrade for a month, without renewing, but may upgrade from time to time for short periods to carry out additional research. 

I'm not too bothered by the other offerings in the subscription, but you can read more about Ancestry's ProTools at https://support.ancestry.co.uk/s/article/Ancestry-Pro-Tools-Membership.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

FindmyPast offers new three month all records access premium subscription

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) is advertising a new three month long, all access, premium subscription rate via its home page:

Premium  £19.99* per month

Access to everything, including the 1921 Census

Access all newspaper archives

Unlimited access to the 1921 Census
Subscribe

*Billed as a single payment of £59.99 

Follow the link from the home page or visit https://www.findmypast.co.uk/subscribe?duration=3

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Subscribe to the Scottish GENES weekly newsletter

It has taken far too long to sort this (for which I apologise!), but you can now subscribe once again to Scottish GENES, via the subscription box to the right of the screen. Simply type in your email address, and you will be added to the list! (You can also unsubscribe at any stage, via a link in the emails sent out.)

Unlike in the past, an email will not be sent out for every post that is made - instead, I will send out a digest of posts and other materials of interest by way of a weekly newsletter, which will usually go out on Sundays. Occasionally I may send out additional emails if a post is of urgency, or if there is a new book or course release, that sort of thing.

Don't forget also that you can also keep an eye out for the latest news posts on the Scottish GENES Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TheGENESBlog/, on Twitter at https://www.facebook.com/TheGENESBlog/, and of course, directly at the blog itself at http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com.  

I'll do my best to keep you up to date!

Chris

Pre-order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

TheGenealogist expands access to its Map Explorer

From TheGenealogist (www.thegenealogist.co.uk):

TheGenealogist cuts the cost of pinpointing your ancestors

TheGenealogist has been praised for its innovative tools that allow you to discover exactly where your ancestors lived, using Map Explorer™. This innovative feature has now been added to Gold and Starter level subscriptions.

From today, a significant number of databases including the 1891, 1901 and 1911 census, plus TheGenealogist’s Image Archive pictures and along with the Domesday Book 1086, are now available with pins on georeferenced maps in Map Explorer™. This makes Starter & Gold Subscriptions powerful resources for researchers to see where their forebears lived, as well as to investigate the neighbourhood and surrounding area. Accessing Map Explorer™ on a mobile allows researchers to walk in the footsteps of ancestors and discover where homes, schools, places of work and other buildings may once have stood but have now disappeared.

This interface will place a pin on the house using historical data to identify its location where possible or if not, the street or parish on an appropriate map of the area connected to the record. As this resource makes use of a number of historical and modern maps matching the same precise coordinates, Starter & Gold subscribers are in a much better position to see where their ancestors had once lived even if the area has now changed.

To find out what’s included in the discounted Starter and Gold subscriptions go to www.thegenealogist.co.uk/PRTGAUG22

I recenty wrote about the Map Explorer facility and its use for Scotland at http://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2022/07/thegenealogist-links-1891-censuses-from.html.

(With thanks to Nick Thorne)

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

MyHeritage gift memberships

From MyHeritage (www.myheritage.com):

Just in time for the holidays, we’re happy to announce the launch of the new MyHeritage gift membership! You can now give someone special the MyHeritage Complete plan, our best plan for family history research. To celebrate the launch, gift memberships are now available with a 50% introductory discount.

With many people spending more time at home and looking for meaningful activities to enjoy, the MyHeritage gift membership makes the perfect holiday gift and is sure to delight a dear family member or close friend.

The gift membership provides access to all features and all 12.7 billion historical records on MyHeritage.

Please share this wonderful news with your audience, and read more about the new gift membership in the blog post.

Order a gift membership in a few clicks, and your chosen recipient will receive an email explaining the super simple steps needed to redeem their gift.

You can choose to give either a 1-year or 6-month gift membership. Gift memberships are one-time and do not renew. At the end of the membership period, the recipient will retain access to their MyHeritage account and all family tree data. If they wish to continue enjoying the full benefits of a membership, it will be up to them to extend their plan (or you can decide to be kind to them and give them another gift membership – it’s up to you).

A gift membership on MyHeritage makes a great holiday or birthday gift. It’s the perfect way to introduce someone you care about to the enjoyable world of genealogy and help them discover their family history. 

For further information visit https://blog.myheritage.com/2020/11/introducing-the-myheritage-gift-membership/ -  there's also a short vid below, and at https://youtu.be/ggJLn7XYf24

(With thanks to Daniel Horowitz)

Chris

Pre-order my next book, Sharing Your Family History Online, at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. My book Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

How to sign up for the Scottish GENES daily email

You can subscribe to Scottish GENES and receive a free daily email for family history news and stories concerning Scottish genealogy, Irish genealogy, British genealogy, and relevant stories from the diaspora - as well as tips, news on offers and releases from the main genie vendors, and more.

To sign up for a an email digest every day, use the Follow by Email facility, as follows:

Simply add your email address and click on Submit - a screen will then appear as follows:

Tick the box confirming you are not a Borg drone, Terminator or Cyberman (!), then click on Complete Subscription Request.

And that should be you!

Don't forget also that you can follow Scottish GENES on Twitter, on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Cheers!

Chris

You can pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 (out April). Also available, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.