The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

The ninth annual E.O. Jr. and Betty Templeton History and Genealogy Fair, hosted by Mississippi State University Libraries, is set for June 3.

Admission is free, and those interested in attending the 1-5 p.m. event are asked to register online at msstate.libcal.com/event/9142449 by June 1. The registration form also offers an online attendance option.

According to Fair Director Jennifer McGillan, the afternoon will be full of genealogical and historical information on creating and working on a family tree, using mapping to tell the family story and navigating the multi-state Lantern Project in which MSU Libraries is participating.

After a welcome and opening remarks in the Eli and Giles rooms on the first floor of Mitchell Memorial Library, these specific workshops will be held:

“Introducing the Lantern Project,” 1 p.m., an informational session about this effort to digitize legal records of enslaved persons and funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission of the U.S. National Archives; features materials from MSU, the University of Mississippi, Delta State University, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, Historic Natchez Foundation and Montgomery County, Alabama, Archives

“FamilySearch 101,” 2:15 p.m., an explanation and demonstration of the free resource FamilySearch.org

“Finding the Trail: Making and Using Maps in Genealogical Research,” 3:30 p.m., an informative hour on the purpose of maps in telling the family story and how to use them.

A permit is needed to park on campus and can be obtained by visiting msstateparking.t2hosted.com/cmn/auth_ext.aspx. To contact MSU Parking and Transit Services, call 662-325-2661.

The following announcement was written by the Augusta Genealogical Society:

Augusta Genealogical Society
Augusta, Georgia
2nd Quarterly
Virtual Genealogical Program

Secrets of the Georgia Archives:
A Genealogical Avenue

When:      Saturday, June 25, 2022

Time:       1:00 - 2:00 pm EST

Where:    Online - Register at www.augustagensociety.org

                 Registration deadline is June 24.  Registration required to receive Zoom link

Price:       Free

Speaker:  Robert Scott Davis Jr.  - Senior Professor of History

Bob Davis is a renowned genealogist, who literally wrote the book on the genealogical collections held at the Georgia Archives. His 1981 work titled Research in Georgia: With a Special Emphasis Upon the Georgia Department of Archives and History, is a classic reference guide. It was updated and expanded in 2001 by the publication of Georgia Research: A Handbook for Genealogists, Historians, Archivists, Lawyers, Librarians, and Other Researchers that he co-authored with Ted Brooke. Davis has contributed many volumes and journal articles to Georgia genealogy and is among the foremost authorities on research in the state.

Mr. Davis’ research interests include the American Revolution in Georgia and South Carolina. He has built an outstanding collection at Wallace State Community College that pioneers promoting and teaching local and family history research in a college environment. Besides family history, he also teaches U.S. history, western civilization, world history, and continuing education classes on basic, Southern, Civil War, advanced and computer genealogy.

Click here to read the program flyer.

JOIN AGS NOW and enjoy the benefits of several programs, which will be free to members in 2022.

The Augusta Genealogical Society is a non profit organization founded in Augusta, Georgia in September 1979.

The following is a Plus Edition article, written by and copyright by Dick Eastman. 

One of my ongoing projects involves digitizing most every document that I may possibly need in the future and then having it available at my fingertips at any time. You might consider doing the same. Today's technology makes it simple to have all your required documents available whenever and wherever you need them.

For instance, I had a doctor's appointment recently, and the doctor asked what medications I was taking. The problem is that I have difficulty remembering names of medicines that look like a mumbo-jumbo collection of random letters. I can't remember the names. Instead, I grabbed my ”smartphone,” touched an icon for my notes program, entered "prescriptions," and then touched SEARCH. A second or two later, a list of my prescribed medications appeared on the screen of the cell phone, which I was able to show to the doctor. Total time elapsed: about twenty seconds. That's not bad considering I was in the doctor's office at the time. It wasn't practical to go home and retrieve a list of medications.

If the doctor wanted a copy for his records, I could display the list on the smartphone's screen, press SHARE, select EMAIL, and then send it to the doctor's office's email address. That's easier, faster, and produces better results than making photocopies! If the doctor wants a hard copy, he can print out the email message. Luckily, my doctor runs a paperless office; he doesn't save any paper. Everything in his office is digital. I like that doctor!

I have also written several times about my ongoing efforts to digitize most all the genealogy books and magazines in my collection. Indeed, I am not limiting this to genealogy material; I am attempting to digitize most everything I might need ever again: receipts from both online and offline purchases, birth certificates, maintenance schedules for the automobiles, insurance policies, the user’s manual for the refrigerator, my appointment book, my address book, my driver’s license, my ham radio license, my pilot's license, a scanned image of my passport (encrypted before being stored), lists of URLs (addresses) for web sites of interest, family photographs, insurance policy information, an encrypted list of all my credit cards with the card numbers, expiration dates, and the toll-free numbers shown on the back of each card, eyeglasses prescription, and most all other pieces of paper that arrive in the mail, except for the advertisements. Actually, I have even been known to scan an advertisement or two in cases where I wanted to keep the information.

I even scan my incoming bills although I don't receive many of those in the mail anymore. Almost all my bills now arrive by email and, of course, I save those as well.

A few years ago, when a winter ice storm caused a tree branch to fall onto the brand-new fence that had been installed at home a few months earlier, I quickly snapped some pictures with my cell phone's camera and filed those pictures in my documents folder. When filing an insurance claim (which I also scanned), I printed the pictures and included them with the claim. I also saved a digital copy of the entire insurance claim, including the pictures. As the old saying states, "a picture is worth a thousand words." Those were words I didn't have to write on the insurance claim; the pictures show everything.

Some years ago, I placed a motor home in storage for a couple of months. The clerk at the storage facility asked for a copy of my motor home insurance policy. I normally wouldn't be carrying insurance policies with me everywhere I go but in this case I did have an electronic copy of every insurance policy in my private area “in the cloud.” I pulled the cell phone out of my pocket, retrieved the images of the insurance policy from the cloud, and asked the clerk, “What's your email address?” He told me and I sent the document to his address, again with my cell phone. Within seconds, he had a copy of the insurance policy in his in-box and he could print it, if he wished to do so. Total elapsed time? About a minute or so.

I find multiple reasons for scanning receipts. First, it's always nice to have receipts available at your fingertips in case there is a question about payment. Even more important, having these documents quickly available greatly simplifies the preparation of income taxes every year.

By the way, the Internal Revenue Service now PREFERS digital images or receipts and of income tax forms. The IRS doesn't have room for millions of filing cabinets to save all that paper! If you do supply all your info on paper, do you know what the IRS does with it? Yes, the IRS employees scan everything and then either return the paper to you (if you are at an audit in the same room as the IRS employee) or else the IRS employee throws your paper away!

Storing thousands of documents requires a bit of disk space. Luckily, that space is now cheap. One-terabyte disk drives now sell for under $50. This project would have been impossible 20 years ago. It would have been difficult and expensive 5 years ago. Yet it is easy and inexpensive today. Even better, I also store duplicate copies of all the same files “in the cloud” in a highly-secure manner plus additional backups on a local hard drive connect to my computer's USB port. In fact, the documents stored “in the cloud” are probably more secure than the copies kept on my computer's hard drive.

Credit card numbers, bank account information, my driver's license, my passport, and more are all strongly encrypted before being stored, even if stored in my computer's hard drive. Even the employees of the cloud-based file storage services cannot read my more sensitive files. Only I have access to the encrypted information. That's a lot more secure than trying to save printed documents!

If my local hard drive ever crashes, I have multiple backup copies. In addition, the cloud-based copies are available wherever I am, as long as I have a data connection available on my cell phone, tablet computer, or laptop computer. I now have instant access to tens of thousands of documents wherever I am, even documents I saved 10 or 15 years ago. Just try to do something similar with paper documents!

To make the process work easily and effectively, I also need software that stores the various documents and retrieves them quickly when needed, wherever I am. That software must be able to store and retrieve images as well as text, and do so quickly. Being able to retrieve information when at home is nice, but I find it much more important to be able to retrieve the same information when I am at a doctor's office, a dentist's office, the auto mechanic's, or the accountant's office. In fact, I also often retrieve information when standing in the aisle of a retail store. I even keep my grocery list in digital format and can retrieve it at any time, whether in a grocery store or elsewhere.

The process is simple. 

The remainder of this article is reserved for Plus Edition subscribers only. If you have a Plus Edition subscription, you may read the full article at: https://eogn.com/(*)-Plus-Edition-News-Articles/127964231.

If you are not yet a Plus Edition subscriber, you can learn more about such subscriptions and even upgrade to a Plus Edition subscription immediately at https://eogn.com/page-18077.

The United States is about to celebrate Memorial Day this coming Monday. In recognition of the people who put their lives on the line to serve their country this Memorial Day, MyHeritage is offering free access to the company's thousands of war stories. From the MyHeritage Blog:

As we celebrate the people who put their lives on the line to serve their country this Memorial Day, there’s never been a better time to explore the war stories in your family history. MyHeritage is pleased to help open the door for new discoveries about your family’s military history by offering free access to our entire collection of military records from May 25–31, 2022.

Search military records on MyHeritage now for free

MyHeritage is home to 694 collections of 74 million military records from all around the world — including draft, enlistment, and service records, pension records, and other military documents. Several important military record collections have been added in the past few months, including collections from France, Germany, and the United States. The collections contain records going back as far as the mid-1700s, providing information on people across the globe who were involved in the major armed conflicts of the past few centuries.

Military records can provide a glimpse not only into your ancestors’ military service, but also into who they were and where they came from — and sometimes, they may even contain information on their physique and appearance. They can serve as a crucial supplement or alternative to vital records, and help you get an idea of what your ancestors’ lives were like during wartime.

Usually, most of these records can only be accessed by MyHeritage users with paid subscriptions. During the next week only, anyone will be able to search and view all military records on MyHeritage absolutely free.

Don’t pass up this chance to learn more about the heroes in your family! Search the free military records on MyHeritage now.

23andMe Holding Co. (Nasdaq: ME) (“23andMe”), a leading consumer genetics and research company with a mission to help people access, understand, and benefit from the human genome, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter (“Q4”) and full year of fiscal year 2022 (“FY2022”), which ended March 31, 2022. 23andMe is the only company with multiple FDA authorizations for over-the-counter genetic health risk reports, and in particular the only company that is FDA authorized to provide, without physician involvement, genetic cancer risk reports and medication insights on how individuals may process certain commonly prescribed medications based on their genetics. The company has also created the world’s largest crowdsourced platform for genetic research, which it is using to pursue drug discovery programs rooted in human genetics across a spectrum of disease areas.

“We made incredible progress this last year with several major milestones, including our entry into the public markets, raising $560 million, and our acquisition of Lemonaid Health. In addition, we increased the number of health reports in our Personal Genome Service to over 60, grew our customer base to 12.8 million genotyped customers and expanded our therapeutics pipeline to more than 50 active programs with two now in Phase 1 clinical trials. All of these accomplishments further our mission to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome,” said Anne Wojcicki, CEO and Co-Founder of 23andMe. “Genomic information is enabling us to revolutionize the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of human disease. The 23andMe Consumer business is focused on building a genomic health service that focuses on prevention and wellness. Our clinical efforts started with the acquisition and integration of Lemonaid Health’s telehealth and digital pharmacy services and will continue as we roll out a number of new services this fiscal year. Just this month we started beta testing a genetic report consultation service with clinicians who are trained in genetic health concepts. This service can help customers better understand the potential impact of their genetic risk profile and discuss the next steps. This is just the start of our efforts in this area, and I’m excited about the broader suite of services we plan to introduce later this year.”

FY2022 Financial Results Summary

• Achieved financial guidance
  • $272 million revenue [guidance: $268 to $278 million]
  • $217 million net loss [guidance: $(205) to $(220) million]
  • $151 million adjusted EBITDA loss [guidance: $(148) to $(163) million]
• Solid balance sheet with cash of $553 million at year end.

Recent Highlights

• Began offering clinician-led genetic consultations to 23andMe customers focused on risk of breast cancer, colon cancer or early onset of heart disease based on the company’s BRCA1/BRCA2, MUTYH-associated polyposis and familial hypercholesterolemia reports.
• Enrolled patients in a Phase 1 study of the company’s first wholly owned immuno-oncology antibody, 23ME-00610 (23ME’610).
• Presented data at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2022 Annual Meeting related to the company’s wholly-owned 23ME’610 immuno-oncology program.
• Increased customer database to 12.8 million genotyped customers.
• Expanded 23andMe+ availability to customers in the UK and Canada. 23andMe+ is a membership service that offers insights and features to give members even more actionable information to live healthier lives.
• Launched four new reports for customers subscribed to 23andMe+ bringing total reports available to over 60. These new reports use machine learning to create a statistical model that estimates a person’s likelihood of developing a specific condition using thousands of genetic markers, along with a person’s ethnicity and birth sex. The new reports released in the fourth quarter were:
  • Skin cancer reports (2)
  • Diverticulitis report
  • Irritable bowel syndrome report

• Published three papers describing findings on how genetics influences depression and bipolar disorder Translational Psychiatry (2022) 12:121, educational attainment Nature Genetics (2022) 54, 437–449 and loss of smell and taste due to COVID-19 Nature Genetics (2022) 54, 121-124.
• Made Comparably’s 2022 list of Best Places to Work in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Our 2022 fiscal year was a pivotal year for 23andMe with our public listing in June 2021 followed by the strategically important acquisition of Lemonaid Health in November,” said Steve Schoch, Chief Financial Officer of 23andMe. “During that same time, our Personal Genome Service business increased by 1.5 million genotyped customers, or 13%, significantly extending our competitive data advantage. Our investments in our therapeutics portfolio have increased our pipeline to more than 50 active programs. Our Research Services business will be sustained by GSK’s election to remain our exclusive data partner for a fifth year for an opt-in cash payment of $50 million, double the average annual cash payment of the first four years. This extension is a clear sign of the value GSK sees in our data advantage.”

“This coming fiscal year we plan to take a more cautious overall approach to our use of cash, giving priority to the roll out of our next-generation genomic health service, and to advancing our therapeutics efforts. We believe that appropriate investments in these areas will provide our best opportunities for future growth,” added Schoch.

FY2022 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results

Total revenue for the three and twelve months ended March 31, 2022, was $101 million and $272 million, respectively, representing increases of 14% and 11%, respectively, for the same periods in the prior year. Fourth quarter revenue growth was primarily due to the addition of three months of telehealth business revenue from our Lemonaid Health acquisition and higher Research Services revenue. These increases were partially offset by lower Personal Genome Service (“PGS”) revenue. Full year revenue growth was primarily driven by five months of telehealth business revenue and higher subscription revenue.

Consumer services revenue represented approximately 83% and 82% of total revenue, respectively, for the three and twelve months ended March 31, 2022, and Research Services revenue, substantially all derived from the collaboration with GSK, accounted for approximately 17% and 18% of total revenue, respectively, for those same periods.

Operating expenses for the three and twelve months ended March 31, 2022 were $117 million and $387 million, respectively, compared to $112 million and $302 million for the same periods in the prior year. The increase in fourth quarter operating expenses was primarily attributable to increased sales and marketing expenses associated with the addition of telehealth marketing activities. The increase in full year operating expenses was primarily due to increased sales and marketing spending around holiday and promotional periods, the addition of telehealth sales and marketing expenses and therapeutics-related research and development expenses as programs advance in development.

Net loss for the three and twelve months ended March 31, 2022 was $70 million and $217 million, respectively, compared to net losses of $67 million and $184 million for the same periods in the prior year. The increase in net loss for the fourth quarter was primarily driven by higher operating expenses (as noted above). The increase in net loss in the full year was primarily driven by higher operating expenses (as noted above) offset by changes in fair value of warrant liabilities of $33 million and an income tax benefit of $3 million. In December 2021, the company redeemed all outstanding warrants.

Total Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below) for the three and twelve months ended March 31, 2022 was $(30) million and $(151) million, respectively, compared to $(11) million and $(77) million for the same periods in the prior year. The decrease in total Adjusted EBITDA was driven primarily by the increase in operating expenses listed above. Adjusted EBITDA for the three and twelve months ended March 31, 2022 for the Consumer & Research Services segment was $3 million and $(30) million, respectively, compared to $18 million and $13 million for the same periods in the prior year. The decrease in this segment was driven primarily by the increase in operating expenses listed above, excluding therapeutics-related research and development expenses and one-time transaction costs.

Balance Sheet

23andMe ended Q4 FY2022 with cash of $553 million, compared to $282 million as of March 31, 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to the $560 million in gross proceeds from the completion of the business combination with the Virgin Group Acquisition Corp during the first quarter of FY2022.

FY2023 Financial Guidance

The company’s full year fiscal 2023 guidance is based on a conservative approach, recognizing the current uncertainties in the general economy and in financial markets. Within the existing consumer businesses of PGS and telehealth, the company is prioritizing the minimization of cash burn over top-line growth. For those business segments expected to drive future growth, which include the company’s new genomic health services and Therapeutics, the company plans to focus on the most strategically and financially valuable options and invest appropriately. Because the new genomic health service is not anticipated to fully launch until later in the fiscal year, the company does not foresee meaningful revenue contribution from these new consumer products and services within FY2023. As a reminder, our guidance includes the full-year impact of the consolidation of Lemonaid Health’s business into the company’s overall consumer business as well as the current and anticipated effects of general inflation on certain of our costs. Revenue guidance for FY2023, which will end on March 31, 2023, is projected to be in the range of $260 to $280 million, with a net loss in the range of $350 to $370 million. Full year adjusted EBITDA loss is projected to be in the range of $195 to $215 million for fiscal year 2023.

About 23andMe

23andMe is a genetics-led consumer healthcare and therapeutics company empowering a healthier future. For more information, please visit investors.23andme.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future performance of 23andMe’s businesses in consumer genetics and therapeutics and the growth and potential of its proprietary research platform. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included or incorporated in this press release, including statements regarding 23andMe’s strategy, financial position, funding for continued operations, cash reserves, projected costs, plans, and objectives of management, are forward-looking statements. The words "believes," "anticipates," "estimates," "plans," "expects," "intends," "may," "could," "should," "potential," "likely," "projects," “predicts,” "continue," "will," “schedule,” and "would" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements are predictions based on 23andMe’s current expectations and projections about future events and various assumptions. 23andMe cannot guarantee that it will actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in its forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on 23andMe’s forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (many of which are beyond the control of 23andMe), or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject to other risks and uncertainties that are described in 23andMe’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 11, 2022 and in the reports subsequently filed by 23andMe with the SEC. The statements made herein are made as of the date of this press release and, except as may be required by law, 23andMe undertakes no obligation to update them, whether as a result of new information, developments, or otherwise.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measure

To supplement the 23andMe’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations and unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets, which are prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”), this press release also includes references to Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure that 23andMe defines as net income before net interest expense (income), net other expense (income), changes in fair value of warrant liabilities, income tax (provision) benefit, depreciation and amortization of fixed assets, amortization of internal use software, amortization of acquired intangible assets, non-cash stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related costs, litigation settlements not related to normal and continued business activities, and expenses related to restructuring and other charges, if applicable for the period. 23andMe has provided a reconciliation of net loss, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to Adjusted EBITDA at the end of this press release.

Adjusted EBITDA is a key measure used by 23andMe’s management and the board of directors to understand and evaluate operating performance and trends, to prepare and approve 23andMe’s annual budget and to develop short- and long-term operating plans. 23andMe provides Adjusted EBITDA because 23andMe believes it is frequently used by analysts, investors and other interested parties to evaluate companies in its industry and it facilitates comparisons on a consistent basis across reporting periods. Further, 23andMe believes it is helpful in highlighting trends in its operating results because it excludes items that are not indicative of 23andMe’s core operating performance. In particular, 23andMe believes that the exclusion of the items eliminated in calculating Adjusted EBITDA provides useful measures for period-to-period comparisons of 23andMe’s business. Accordingly, 23andMe believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information in understanding and evaluating operating results in the same manner as 23andMe’s management and board of directors.

In evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that in the future 23andMe will incur expenses similar to the adjustments in this presentation. 23andMe’s presentation of Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that future results will be unaffected by these expenses or any unusual or non-recurring items. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered in isolation of, or as an alternative to, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Other companies, including companies in the same industry, may calculate similarly-titled non-GAAP financial measures differently or may use other measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of Adjusted EBITDA as a tool for comparison. There are a number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP financial measures rather than net loss, which is the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP. Some of the limitations of Adjusted EBITDA include (i) Adjusted EBITDA does not properly reflect capital commitments to be paid in the future, and (ii) although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the underlying assets may need to be replaced and Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect these capital expenditures. When evaluating 23andMe’s performance, you should consider Adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including net loss and other GAAP results.

Note: The following article has nothing to do with genealogy, DNA, or any of the other topics normally found in this newsletter. If you are looking for genealogy and similar articles, you might want to skip this one. However, this article references a recent article that I think all computer owners should read.

If you've never added encryption to your email, Jack Wallen explains why you should and demonstrates how it works with the Thunderbird open-source email client at: https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-encrypt-your-email-and-why-you-should/.

Data privacy has become absolutely crucial for businesses. And some businesses go to great lengths to protect their data, files, and communications.

But consumers and smaller businesses seem to think that adding extra security isn't worth the extra work required. The problem with this take is anyone who refuses to take the extra steps might find themselves on the wrong end of a data breach.

You might have sent some sensitive information in an innocent email, only to find some bad actor intercepted the message and was able to easily read the content of that email and extract the information.

You don't want that. Even if it does require an extra bit of work on your part, being safe is much better than being sorry.

So what do you do? You encrypt your email (or the email containing sensitive information).

Again, the article may be found at: https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-encrypt-your-email-and-why-you-should/.

The following announcement was written by TheGenealogist:

This week TheGenealogist is pleased to be releasing almost 60,000 records from the 1851 Dublin City Census Index. This new release will be a great aid for those researchers with ancestors who may have been living in Ireland’s Capital City on the 30 March 1851 at the time when the census was taken.

Jaunting Cars In Dublin from TheGenealogist’s Image Archive

Researchers will find the Index to the 1851 Dublin census to be a wonderful tool for anyone searching for people in Dublin city in the mid-nineteenth century. It provides the names and addresses of approximately 59,000 heads of household and was compiled by Dr D A Chart.

You can search over a million early Irish census records from 1821 to 1851. Also the only complete surviving censuses for Ireland that exist, 1901 and 1911 (over 8 Million records) can be searched via TheGenealogist’s unique search tools, allowing you to search for an ancestor using their address or keywords.

Earlier records compiled for 1813 to 1891 were destroyed at the government's request or by the civil war in 1922. This only leaves census substitutes for researchers of nineteenth century Ireland to use in their quest to delve into their family history.

Fortunately for Dublin Dr. D. A. Chart used the census to compile a “1851 Dublin Heads of Household Index” in 1915. At the time this was primarily to assist staff working in the Public Record Office of Ireland (PROI) searching for proof of age for applicants for the old-age pension.

This index survived the fire and is one of the few remaining fragments of census information available for that time.

TheGenealogist also has a number of Irish Trade and Residential Directories that can be useful for those researching their Dublin ancestors, as well as the previously released Dublin Will and Grant Books.

The 1851 Dublin City Census Index in this current release covers the parishes of

About TheGenealogist

TheGenealogist is an award-winning online family history website, who put a wealth of information at the fingertips of family historians. Their approach is to bring hard to use physical records to life online with easy to use interfaces such as their Tithe and newly released Lloyd George Domesday collections.

TheGenealogist’s innovative SmartSearch technology links records together to help you find your ancestors more easily. TheGenealogist is one of the leading providers of online family history records. Along with the standard Birth, Marriage, Death and Census records, they also have significant collections of Parish and Nonconformist records, PCC Will Records, Irish Records, Military records, Occupations, Newspaper record collections amongst many others.

TheGenealogist uses the latest technology to help you bring your family history to life. Use TheGenealogist to find your ancestors today!

Ask the owner of any Apple iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch or the owners of several competitive Android devices: "What's the best thing about your device?" Many owners will reply, "The screen." Indeed, Gorilla Glass and similar glass products on many of today's handheld devices produce better displays than that of any traditional desktop computer screen. The Apple MacBook Pro I am using to write this article also has an excellent video display, called a Retina Display, that produces better video than any other laptop I have ever seen.

Corning knows something about the glass business as well as about computers, as the company makes the display screens for many of today's laptop and handheld computers. Now Corning has released a video showing the company's vision of the future of computer displays. The video has nothing to do with genealogy but can you imagine using these tools to view images of census records and other old documents?

The video seems to show "computers everywhere." I found it interesting that there is not a single desktop computer shown with a separate screen and separate keyboard and a beige-colored box containing the rest of the components.

I don't expect all computer manufacturers to switch to these displays overnight but I suspect we will see something similar to these display screens within a few years as prices continue to drop.

You can watch the "Glass Computers of the Future" video at http://youtu.be/6Cf7IL_eZ38. I suggest you watch it in full-screen mode to get the maximum effect. (On my screen, that is the icon that looks like a square box in the extreme bottom right of the display window.)

I have written before about the U.S. government's Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) database at http://geonames.usgs.gov/index.html that provides exact latitudes and longitudes for thousands of cemeteries and other named places within the United States. To find a cemetery, all you do is search the GNIS database, find the latitude and longitude for the cemetery you seek, enter those coordinates into a GPS, and follow the instructions shown on the GPS to drive directly to the cemetery.

NOTE: Nowadays, you do not even need a dedicated GPS device. Most Android phones and all iPhones have available apps that will provide GPS capabilities within your cell phone. Some of them will even display the latest traffic reports along your planned route while you are driving. Many of these GPS-emulation apps are available free of charge while a few cost a modest amount of money, always less than the cost of purchasing a dedicated GPS device.

There is but one problem with the government's GNIS database: it doesn't include all the cemeteries! For years, it did not list the small, rural cemetery where several of my relatives are buried, where I already own a burial plot, and where I intend to spend eternity. However, I checked again when writing this article and found that the Morse's Corner Cemetery is now listed in the GNIS database. So much for the idea of my being buried at an unlisted address!

Despite my recent success, the GNIS database still does not list ALL cemeteries. Luckily, I found another source of possible information.

The POI Factory is an online service that provides exact geographic coordinates to owners of GPS devices, including anyone who owns a cell phone with a GPS app installed. (The letters "POI" apparently stand for "Points Of Interest.") The web site has more than one million locations in the database with everything from highway rest areas to state parks to fast food restaurants. These include a lot of cemeteries. There’s even a list of the locations of Red Light Camera intersections and Speed Cameras. That last list is updated weekly.

Like the GNIS database mentioned earlier, not every cemetery is listed in the POI Factory. However, if I cannot find a cemetery's location in one database, I'd quickly look in another.

To find cemeteries or any other place listed in the POI Factory's database, go to http://www.poi-factory.com and click on "Search for POI Files."

Next, enter a keyword for whatever you are seeking. In this case, enter "cemetery" and then click on SEARCH.

You will then be presented with a list of hundreds of cemeteries, too many to search manually. In the unlabelled box just below the POI Factory logo near the top left corner, enter identifying words or phrases. For instance, in my case I would enter "Maine" or (even better) "Penobscot" (the name of the county where I know the cemetery is located). If I already know the name of the cemetery, I might enter that, such as "Evergreen." Then click on SEARCH once again.

A new list will appear that contains cemetery locations that match your search terms. Latitude and longitude are also displayed.

The POI Factory will even create a computer file containing the names and exact locations of all the locations found. In theory, that file can be copied to some GPS devices, although not all, and then used to easily find locations without any need to manually enter the geographic coordinates. Instructions for use of the files will vary from one GPS to another; see your GPS owners manual for instructions.

Of course, the use of the POI Factory is not limited to finding cemeteries. It will find all sorts of named locations and even many unnamed ones. The list includes country courthouses, hospitals, medical centers, stores, fast food restaurants, and much more. In fact, the POI Factory already contains dozens of pre-loaded files showing the precise locations of many locations of all sorts of common-searched-for locations, including: all the Wal-Mart, Sam's Clubs, and Super Wal-Mart Centers in the United States and Canada, all the Costco locations in the U.S. and Canada, locations of covered bridges, Motorcycle Campgrounds And Lodging, airport and aviation locations, national parks, and lots of cemeteries with a separate file for each of many U.S. states and several other classifications as well (U.S. National cemeteries, Presidential grave locations, and more).

If you own a GPS or a cell phone with a GPS app installed, you need to know about the POI Factory! You may not need to use it often but, when you do have a need, it can be valuable.

The POI Factory is available at: http://www.poi-factory.com.

You can find cemeteries by starting at: http://www.poi-factory.com/taxonomy/term/22.

A series of tutorials about the use of the POI Factory web site and about several other GPS-related topics may be found at http://www.poi-factory.com/tutorials.

Now, go visit a cemetery!