DNA Sales plus four more tips

Welcome to Ferndale Genies blog, DNA sales plus four more tips today.

#1 In celebration of Father’s Day, there are plenty of sales on DNA kits. This list comes from blogger Julie Cahill Tarr.  All sales end June 21, 2020.  Maybe.  I hear some last until the end of the month but no real evidence of that.

• Family Tree DNA is offering discounts on some of their DNA tests. Save $20 on the Family Finder test (autosomal), $10 on the Y-37 test, $30 on the Y-111 test, and $50 on the Big Y test. Visit http://familytreedna.com.
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• 23andMe is offering $50 off one Health+Ancestry kit, or $150 off when you buy two Health+Ancestry kits. Visit http://23andme.com.
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• MyHeritage is offering $30 off their DNA kits (plus free shipping if you buy two or more). Visit http://myheritage.com/dna.
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• Ancestry is offering $40 off their regular DNA kit, and $50 off their AncestryHealth DNA kit. Visit http://ancestry.com/dna.

#2 Quoting from the Census.gov, “State censuses can be as important as the federal census to genealogists but, because they were taken randomly, remain a much-under-utilized resource in American genealogy. State censuses often can serve as substitutes for some of the missing federal census records - most notably the 1790, 1800, 1810, and 1890 censuses. Many state censuses also asked different questions than the federal census, thus recording information that cannot be found elsewhere in the federal schedules.

“While not all states took their own censuses, and some have not survived, state and local census records can be found in many locations. Most states which took censuses usually did so every 10 years, in years ending in "5" (1855, 1865, etc.) to complement the federal census. These state census records are most often found at the state archives or state library. Many are also on microfilm through a local Family History Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and online via commercial genealogy databases.”

A list of state censuses provided at this link:   https://www.census.gov/history/www/genealogy/other_resources/state_censuses.html

For Frank, none for CT and all these for New York - 1790, 1825, 1835, 1845, 1855, 1865, 1875, 1892, 1905, 1915, 1925.

#3 This tip bears repeating from the minutes.  Judith offered this tip on Sanborn Maps which are insurance maps for coverage against fire, etc. They include floor plans and information about the property. Very useful information. 

The Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps are online at the Library of Congress.  This link gives descriptions, key and tips on how to use.   https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanborn-maps/about-this-collection/. 

ProQuest.com offered these quick facts:

Property and land-use maps of everyday life from 1867-1970
Unparalleled map views of 12,000+ U.S. towns and cities
Coverage Dates: 1867-1970

Sources Covered: More than 660,000 large-scale maps of more than 12,000 US towns and cities

#4 MyHeritage is getting lots of publicity about their new Photo Enhancer feature. It can be used in combination with their Colorizing feature.  Here is a blogpost showing many before and after photos.  https://blog.myheritage.com/2020/06/introducing-the-myheritage-photo-enhancer/

Anyone can enhance 10 photos for free, which are counted separately from photos you may have colorized or would like to colorize using MyHeritage In Color™. Over ten, a subscription is required.

#5 The Family Tree Magazine has really perked up since their bankruptcy last year and the purchase by Yankee Publications.  Their free newsletter The Genealogy Insider is now a weekly with articles, their University classes, and their Shop that contains books and other items.  

This month’s issue has “101 Best Genealogy Websites”.  There’s a link in this sample of the newsletter:  http://enews.familytreemagazine.com/q/LsBOLXVfcLOfZW6EjstnL4vJCDc6W6WOYXhPfvikREQjCquQ34xJmbiwW.   I read the magazine in the free library version at RB Digital accessed through the WCLS site.

Family Tree Magazine also has a pretty good podcast in which Lisa Louise Cook interviews the staff and writers about the upcoming issue of the magazine.

Goodbye ‘til next time.