Announcement from Ancestry.com about the Ancestry APP

We just re-launched the Ancestry App on version 6.0 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. This isn’t just a re-launch on a new system, we’ve worked hard to add some solid new features that we think you’ll enjoy.

 

Prioritized Hints View

We’ve added a new section to the application which allows you to view all the hints for a given tree from a single place. We’ve added a prioritized sort order to the hints in this section so that your very best hints automatically bubble up into view. In addition to a priority sort, we’ve made it possible to view hints based on recency, with the newest hints at the top of the list. Near the top of the new hints view you will find sort order controls titled “best” and “latest” which allow you to toggle between these two sort orders to meet your needs. We’ve also included some filtering capabilities for the hints in this section which will allow you to filter hints by the last name of the person the hint is for, or to filter hints by type (photo, story or record). When you see a hint that you’d like to learn more about, simply tap; the details of the hint will come into view and you will be able to accept or ignore the hint from right there.

 

Comments

Every day thousands of photos and stories are added to Ancestry by users of the website and the Ancestry App. When one of these pieces of great content might be associated with a  relative of yours you will get a photo or story hint and you get to share this content and benefit from the work of other Ancestry users. Now you will have the ability to comment on these shared pieces of content directly from the mobile app - just like you can on the website. When viewing a photo or story you will notice a new comment area within the mobile app, here you will see comments from others and be able to leave comments of your own.

 

Comments View 

The new comments section provides a running history of the new comments that have been left on photos and stories I your tree,  making it easy for you to keep up to date on the latest comments. When you see a comment that you would like to see in full context or respond to, silly tap; you will be taken to the photo or story that the comment was made on and be able to review the entire comment thread associated with the content.

 

Badges

You may notice a new red badge with a number in it that shows up on the Ancestry app icon. This lets you know that you have new hints or comments to review. We have also included badges on the icons representing the hint and comment sections which allow you to know exactly where the new content can be found.

 

Notifications

If you have enabled the Ancestry App to send you push notifications you will now be notified when the very best new hints or comments are available. When you are ready to view the new hint or comment, simply tap; the app will open and you will be taken dirtily to the hint or comment.

 

Tree Viewer Enhancements

In addition to family and pedigree views, you can now view your family tree in a list view. From this view you can filter the list of tree persons by name or using a number of useful filters (Direct Ancestors, End of Line, Living Relatives, People with Hints, and People with Recent Hints). We’ve also added a dedicated person search within the pedigree and family views. Tapping on the search icon In the top left corner of the tree viewer will allow you to enter the name of the person you are looking for. When you see the person you are looking for, simply tap; the tree will be refocused on this person and you will be taken directly to his or her profile details.

 

Navigation

We’ve simplified and updated the navigation within app. You will notice prominent tabs along the bottom of the app for Hints, Comments, Tree, DNA, and Settings. Getting around the app will now be quicker and easier than ever. 

 

 

In addition to the major updates highlighted above we have worked on smaller touches within the app that enhance the overall experience. As you use the app in more depth you will likely notice other changes like: quick links to web content, side-by-side comparisons between tree and record data, quick access to profile information from hints and updated colors and styling. We hope that the new version 6.0 app experience will be a good one, and that the Ancestry Mobile App will become an ever more integral part of your Ancestry experience. If you have ideas, thoughts or questions please feel free to submit feedback by tapping on the “Feedback” tab within the Settings section of the app.

 

The Ancestry Mobile Team

Update on MyCanvas

Great news: MyCanvas finds a new home in Alexander’s

(Author: Eric Shoup)

This past June, we announced that we were retiring the MyCanvas website and service in September 2014.

We’ve heard from many people who love MyCanvas and hate the idea of it going away. Well, we have some good news for you: It’s not going away after all. We listened and decided not to retire MyCanvas, but instead transfer the website to Alexander’s.

Founded 35 years ago, Alexander’s is a Utah-based printing production company that has been the long-term printer of MyCanvas products including its genealogy books, calendars, and other printed products. This makes the transition of MyCanvas to Alexander’s a natural fit.

It’s our hope that this agreement will not change the experience for MyCanvas customers. In fact, Alexander’s plans to make some exciting improvements we think you’ll love. Additionally, MyCanvas will continue to be available from the Ancestry.com website as we believe in the importance of sharing family history discoveries and see MyCanvas as a way to deliver this ability to our customers.

The transition of MyCanvas will take about six months. But in the meantime, all MyCanvas projects will remain accessible on Ancestry.com until it moves over to Alexander’s next year. We will continue to communicate details as the transition moves forward.

We want to thank our loyal MyCanvas customers for all the projects you have built and printed with us over the years. We’re excited about this new owner of MyCanvas—and we think you will be too.

FTM2014 - How to identify people with no 1900 Census Records - REVISED

This is a revised video for:

Question from the Cousin Russ Community

Question:

Is there a good query language in any tools where you can query your family tree in a more advanced way?

"Give me all people where you have descendants born before 1900 and I have no source connected to it from the Census 1900"



_



Thanks to reader Karen Jaquish for pointing out that I had removed too many people from my search.

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Copyright © 2014 by H R Worthington

RE: Do Search Engines Provide What You Request?

I was reading Randy Seaver's blog:

http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/07/do-search-engines-provide-what-you.html

and thought I would give it a try. I was wondering if I would get the same results or different results, based on how I search on Ancestry.com. This is from the Ancestry.com website and not from within Family Tree Maker.

Here is my Input: [ my default Search settings ]

I entered Sampson Seaver, Birth year of 1830, and selected New York, USA when I typed New Y

Then clicked on Search.

Since Randy was looking for 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 U.S. census records I selected the Census and Voting Lists

I got them all in ONE search:

I think the importance of my results are the Sliders. I use them ALL OF THE TIME. I am usually pretty successful with my search results. I do this type of search while teaching a class.

Here is the slider settings that I see as my defaults on this generic type of search.

The first name was fairly broad, which would pick of variations on Sampson. The Born date and location were broad.

Now, if I were to get too many results, I would move the Birth date and place tighter.

Now, I don't know if the census records were Randy's Sampson, but the information in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 were consistent, would have to know if the 1880 was Randy's person.

Thanks Randy for the challenge.

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Copyright © 2014 by H R Worthington

FTM2014 - How to identify people with no 1900 Census Records

Question from the Cousin Russ Community

Question: Is there a good query language in any tools where you can query your family tree in a more advanced way?

"Give me all people where you have descendants born before 1900 and I have no source connected to it from the Census 1900"



_______________________________________________________________
Copyright © 2014 by H R Worthington

Test for Evidentia

This is a test post from Evidentia:

Genealogical Proof Report

for the Birth of Charles Wake (6)

Prepared 24 Jul 2014 by Russ

Summary of Findings

02 August 2013 - The working hypothesis is that Charles Wake was born in New York between 2 Aug 1802 and 1 Aug 1803

Itemized Research Findings

2 assertions from 1 sources were considered in evaluating this claim.
The 1850 US Census - Charles Wake (Xxx, YYYY) asserts that Charles Wake is 47 years old on 01 August 1850 which would mean born about 1803. The source reviewed was a clear unaltered Image Copy of an original record. It is indeterminable whether the information being considered is Primary (meaning we must assume the informant was not a knowledgeable eyewitness or participant in the event). The evidence supporting the claim is considered Indirect (meaning the evidence is implied, circumstantial or fails to answer the whole question).
The 1850 Census asserts that Charles Wake was 47 years of age as of 01 August 1850, indicating that he was born between 2 Aug 1802 and 1 Aug 1803
The 1850 US Census - Charles Wake (Xxx, YYYY) asserts that Charles Wake was born in New York. The source reviewed was a clear unaltered Image Copy of an original record. It is indeterminable whether the information being considered is Primary, and must be treated as Secondary information. The evidence supporting the claim is considered Indirect.
the 1850 Census asserts that Charles Wake was born in New York

End Notes

1850 U.S. Census, New York Ward 8, New York, New York, Population Schedule, Page 203A, Line 11 - 16, dwelling 344, family 863, Charles Wake; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 July 2014); citing NARA microfilm M432, roll 542, Image 10.

Prepared 24 Jul 2014 by Russ

Evidentia© 2012-2013

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Copyright © 2014 by H R Worthington

Changes Coming in October 2014 to Family Tree Maker

I saw the following on Facebook:

"We’re making updates that may impact your Family Tree Maker experience. Starting in October 2014, Ancestry Web Search within Family Tree Maker software will have reduced functionality or may not be supported by Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Vista or Internet Explorer 8 or 9. Moving forward, Microsoft Windows 7 or 8 will be required for Ancestry Web Search functionality to work properly. "

I believe this to be true. But let me see if I can break this down a little bit further.

1.  Version 16 & Earlier — The Web Search features in V16 will no longer be supported after July 31.  The V16 & earlier software will continue to run, but the web search functionality will not work.
2. Windows XP — Ancestry is making changes that require newer versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer.  Because FTM uses an embedded IE browser, upgrading to a different browser will not help those customers.  Microsoft Internet Explorer on a Windows XP computer cannot be upgraded beyond IE 8, and Microsoft has discontinued support for Windows XP, so those computers will not be able to run this updated functionality.
3. FTM 2008 – 2012 — These customers may also see the XP message even if they have upgraded their browsers.  Ancestry support can help them make a change to their registry that will get them past this message.

Like other recent announcements by Ancestry.com, these also do not surprise me. I am totally aware of many users and their love for Version 16. I was there, but with FTM2014 I can't go back. Absolutely no reason for me to look back, was I think FTM2014 is the best version to date.

If I find additional information, I'll pass it along, but I think I have read the information correctly.

Come on up to FTM2014. Don't worry about the earlier versions, just come on up. 

One user's opinion.

Russ

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Copyright © 2014 by H R Worthington

Distributed Denial of Service Attack Neutralized

Here is a link to Ancestry.com's Blog post about the DDOS Attack. Family Tree Maker issues, from the best that I can tell, have been resolved. I have seen one or two folks with issues, on the FTMM-3 version, where a Restart of the Computer resolved the problem.

Distributed Denial of Service Attack Neutralized

As the blog post says, there still may be some issues.

Russ

FTM2014 - Media, Sources, Facts

A blog reader asked what should be linked to a record, such as a Census Record. This short video will try to explain that a Media File, like a Census Record is linked to a Citation. I think of the Media file or image as supporting information for the Citation. That Citation is then linked to ALL of the Facts, or information that I gathered from that Citation.



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Copyright © 2014 by H R Worthington

Ancestry.com's Website

UPDATE (4:15pm PST): The Ancestry websites are coming back online. Please clear your cache and your cookies, then try logging in.

A couple items to note: (1) You may experience intermittent issues with Search and Trees. Please be patient, we are working to restore the website(s) fully and this will take time, (2) Images are loading slowly so we recommend you save them to your Shoebox for now, (3) If you are using Family Tree Maker, please switch to 'manual sync' so it does not try to sync your online tree for now. Give this a little time.

Thank you once again for your patience and support during this DDoS attack on Ancestry.

UPDATE (2:30pm PST): Still working on it.

UPDATE (12:30pm PST): We were able to bring the site(s) back online, but have experienced another outage. Please bear with us as we work to restore all services.

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Ancestry.com is back online. Please know you should now be able to access all Ancestry and Find A Grave websites, though you may experience issues intermittently as we continue to work through bringing the sites back up to full capacity.

AN UPDATE FROM OUR CTO, SCOTT SORENSEN
Around 1:30 p.m. MT on Monday, June 16, 2014, attackers targeted Ancestry with a Distributed Denial of Service attack (DDoS). During the attack, Ancestry websites along with the Find A Grave website were clogged with massive amounts of bogus traffic that took the sites down.

We want to apologize for the inconvenience this has caused and also thank you for your amazing support, as this may have interrupted some of your family history research. We understand how frustrating this can be for our customers, and please know that it was just as frustrating for us too. We appreciate your patience and support as we dealt with this unfortunate incident against Ancestry.

We have since neutralized the DDoS attack and our services have been up since 11:00 a.m. MT today. You should now be able to access all Ancestry and Find A Grave websites, though you may experience issues intermittently as we continue to work through bringing the sites back up to full capacity.

Your data was not compromised by this attack. This attack overloaded our servers with massive amounts of traffic but did not impact or access the data within those servers. No data was impacted in any way.

I would like to thank the Ancestry Web Operations team for working really hard throughout the night to restore the Ancestry and Find A Grave services and build the defenses necessary to mitigate future attacks of this sort. Our Web Operations team is closely monitoring the situation in case the attacks resume and we’re doing everything in our power to protect our websites from situations like this in the future.

Thank you.

Scott Sorensen

Chief Technology Officer