Over the years, I have heard or read many comments from genealogists about who owns information posted to the World Wide Web. In fact, many people are reluctant to post their family trees online because "someone might steal the information." A short article published in the Gizmodo.com web site uses non-lawyer English to explain several of the issues concerning legal "ownership" of information posted online.

If you have concerns about ownership of online information, you might want to read Who Actually Owns Your Content When You Post It to the Web by David Nield at http://bit.ly/2ypjoQU. The article is a few years old but still seems to be 100% accurate.

I will offer one thought to keep in mind: names of people, along with dates and places of birth, marriage, death, military service, and similar facts of interest to genealogists are just that: facts. As stated in the article by David Nield, "You can’t copyright facts, or ideas, or systems..." While you might be in possession of certain facts about your ancestors, that doesn't mean that you OWN the information. No one person "owns" facts within the U.S., according to copyright law.

The following is an excerpt from a very long list created by FamilySearch:

"FamilySearch adds 100K Costa Rica Civil Registrations (1823–1975), a new collection of German Catholic and Lutheran Church Records (1537–1981), and expands available records for Argentina, Brazil, Canada, England, Fiji, Finland, France, Guatemala, Norway, Peru, Spain, S. Africa and the United States  (See Indiana Marriages, 1811–2007, Wisconsin Naturalization Records, 1807-1992, US City and Business Directories, ca.1749-1990, Washington Voting Records, 1876–1940,  Kansas Birth, Baptism and Death Records, 1811–1940, plus more for CA, HI, IA, MS, OK, SC, TX, and VA)."

The (very) long list of newly-added records is too long to fit into a message here but the full list may be found at: https://bit.ly/35e3GpG.

An article written by Eric Blaisdell and published the the Barre-Montpelier (Vermont) Times-Argus tells of the latest development in a lawsuit being heard now. The article states:

"A gynecologist accused of using his own sperm to get a woman pregnant in the 1970s has tried unsuccessfully to get the woman's husband tossed off of the lawsuit the doctor faces.It also appears a DNA test reported he is related to the woman's child because the lawsuit is still pending after the test was completed.

"Cheryl and Peter Rousseau, now of Florida, filed the lawsuit in December 2018 in U.S. District Court in Burlington. The lawsuit states the couple decided to partake in artificial insemination in 1977 because they wanted to have a child after Peter Rousseau had a vasectomy.

"The lawsuit said Dr. John Boyd Coates III was a practicing gynecologist working out of Central Vermont Hospital, the former name of Central Vermont Medical Center."

You can read the full story at: 2T94sOX.

From an article by Steven Kantner, Digital Asset Coordinator in the Texas State Library Archives Commission:

"Too much time on your hands during the pandemic? Digitize your old home videos before it’s too late!

"Staying at home during this period of COVID-19 has allowed many of us to appreciate movie watching at home. Now may be a great time to consider digitizing your old home video movies that have been collecting dust in the closet. Unfortunately, we are facing the obsolescence of videotape and VCRs (Video Cassette Recorders). Those of you who may have bought Betamax in the 1980s are already familiar with the difficulties of an out-of-date format. But the more common VHS format, and the dozen or so camcorder formats that came and went since the 1990s are to the point where they will become unplayable due to either the tape degradation or the loss of working playback equipment and parts to repair them.

"There are several approaches to digitizing your videos. One is to send them out to a service and let the professionals do all the work. This service is provided by companies ranging from small internet startups to well-known large corporations. If you are among the many who could never program the VCR’s clock, then this might be your best option. But, if you like to tinker and happen to have an old VCR to dust off, or know family or friends who do, you might be able to do this yourself. Here are three different options to try depending on what type of media and equipment you have available."

You can read the full article at: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/outofthestacks/how-to-convert-your-home-movie-tapes-to-digital-to-format/.

Randy Majors is well known in the genealogy community for his many utility programs that add a lot more functionality to Google Maps and other products for use in genealogy research. Now he has written more about the mapping options he has created.

Randy writes:

"Now, when you share a link to any live map tool on randymajors.com, the recipient will be taken to exactly the same view you were seeing when you shared it. The link you share will remember:

• the map tool you were using (County Lines on Google Maps, ZIP Codes on Google Maps, Historical U.S. Counties on Google Maps, Section Township Range on Google Maps, etc.)
• the zoom level of the map
• the center point of the map
• the location of the blue map marker (determined by the spot you had last clicked on the map)
• the other layers you had made visible using the checkboxes in the lower left of the map (e.g. "Show US city limits")
• whether you had labels turned on in the lower left (e.g. "Show county labels")"

"So, how do you share the link to the live map?"

Ypu can read all this and a lot more at https://www.randymajors.com/2020/10/sharing-maps-just-got-lot-more-powerful.html

From the MyHeritage Blog:

We’re excited to announce that you can now turn your family photos to beautiful wall art and decorate your home with your family history! Plus, you're entitled to receive our exclusive discount of up to 50% off when ordering multiple prints and to enjoy free shipping worldwide.

Millions of MyHeritage users have brought their historical photos to life using MyHeritage In Color™ and Photo Enhancer. With MyHeritage, nostalgic family photos have never looked so good. Now you can turn your favorite family photos to wall art. This is the perfect way to cherish your family memories, and create wonderful gifts for your loved ones.

You can order your wall art directly from the My Photos section of your MyHeritage account and it will be produced by our partner, Mixtiles, the leading global service for wall art, and delivered to you for free. You can stick and restick the wall art on any surface to create beautiful photo displays — no hammer or nails needed. Learn more about turning your family photos to wall art on our blog at https://blog.myheritage.com/2020/10/new-turn-your-myheritage-family-photos-into-stunning-wall-art/.

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

Explore First World War Rolls of Honour covering Caribbean troops who served with the British Army, new Kent parish records and a host of newspaper updates this Findmypast Friday.

Caribbean Rolls of Honour WW1

Trace military ancestors and their incredible stories in our new Caribbean Rolls of Honour. The records list soldiers from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago who served with the British Armed Forces during World War 1.

For Jamaica, which provided the largest Caribbean contingent to the British and Allied war effort, there are records for army officers from, or connected with, the island as well as NCOs and other ranks who lost their lives in the conflict. For Trinidad & Tobago, the collection is more complete and comprehensive. It is believed to contain the great majority of men who served in the War, including some who served with the French Army. 

As well as soldiers of Afro-Caribbean descent, there are men from the Indian Sub-continent, presumably in most cases the descendants of indentured labourers, as well as men of Latino and Jewish heritage.

Releases for other islands in the Caribbean will be added to this collection over time.

Kent Baptisms

Over 7,000 parish baptisms covering Sutton-at-Hone, Woolwich and St Mary Cray have been added to the collection. Explore these transcripts and images of original church registers to discover new Kent family milestones.

Baptism records are essential for getting further in your family tree. They can reveal your ancestors' names, birth and baptism dates, where they lived and importantly, their parents' details.

Kent Burials

Was your ancestor laid to rest in Kent? Discover where and when they were buried with over 5,000 new burials from the parishes of Eltham and Thames & Medway.

Findmypast is home to one of the most comprehensive collections of Kent family records online. You can also delve into marriages and banns, wills and probate indexes and poor law union records from the Garden of England. 

Newspapers

This week, we’ve released four brand new papers and added more pages to 10 publications.

The latest titles to join our expanding archive include: 

And we've added even more issues to:

The following is a message that was posted to the IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee mailing list:

As of January 1, 2021 there will be a change in ordering birth and death certificates in Washington State.  This has been reported previously by the IAJGS Records Access Alert resulting from legislation law ESSB 5332, the vital records bill, Chapter 148, 2019 Laws.

The law may be read at: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=70.58A&full=true

The rules may be read at: https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/5300/WSR-20-13-017.pdf

The major changes are:

There is a frequently asked question (FAQ) webpage to assist in better understanding the new requirements for ordering birth and death certificates. https://www.doh.wa.gov/LicensesPermitsandCertificates/BirthDeathMarriageandDivorce/VitalRecordsFAQ

If your organization believes it is appropriate to post or distribute to help in getting the word out, they have two fliers which may be downloaded—one for birth records and one for death records—both are attached to this posting. 

For more information please contact policy analyst, Katitza Holthaus at: Katitza.Holthaus@doh.wa.gov 

To read the previous postings on the Washington State Legislation ESSS 5332 and the vital record regulations go to: http://lists.iajgs.org/mailman/private/records-access-alerts/ . You must be registered to access the archives. 

To register go to: http://lists.iajgs.org/mailman/listinfo/records-access-alerts  and follow the instructions to enter your email address, full name and which genealogical  organization with whom you are affiliated   You will receive an email response that you have to reply to or the subscription will not be finalized.

Jan Meisels Allen

Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee

The following announcement was written by the National Genealogical Society:

The National Genealogy Hall of Fame is an educational project sponsored by the National Genealogical Society (NGS). The entire genealogical community is invited to participate in this project – through annual elections to the National Genealogical Hall of Fame, we honor those individuals of the past who made significant contributions to genealogy and set the high standards by which we work today.

Would your society like to honor a genealogist whose unique, pioneering, or exemplary work lives on today? Perhaps there was a notable genealogist in your state or county whose name should be memorialized in the National Genealogy Hall of Fame. If so, NGS and the National Genealogy Hall of Fame would like to hear from you. They are seeking nominations from the entire genealogical community for persons whose achievements or contributions have made an impact on the field. This educational program increases appreciation of the dedication and useful advancements achieved by committed genealogists whose work paved the way for researchers today. This is an opportunity for your nominee to receive National exposure for their contributions to genealogy.

A nomination for election to the National Genealogy Hall of Fame must be made by a genealogical society or similar organization on the official nomination form and National Genealogical Society (NGS) affiliation is not required of nominees, nominating societies, or electors. Thirty-five outstanding genealogists have been recognized for their contributions since 1986. Those elected are permanently commemorated in the virtual Hall of Fame on the NGS website. See https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/hall-of-fame-members/.

The formal Call for Nominations can be downloaded at https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/hall-of-fame/.

Deadline for all submissions is 15 December 2020. Official nomination forms are available from the NGS website (https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/hall-of-fame/) or by contacting the National Genealogical Society, 6400 Arlington Blvd, Suite 810, Falls Church, VA 22042-2318; phone 1-800-473-0060.

The following announcement was written by the Board for Certification of Genealogists:

On 5 October 2020, trustees of the Board for Certification of Genealogists revised Standard 57 (respect for privacy rights) and the Genealogist’s Code of Ethics to allow private sharing of DNA match details. The changes also eliminate the need for test takers to provide written consent for use of their DNA data, although they must be informed about the pros and cons. These changes are effective immediately and will be incorporated into a future update of Genealogy Standards, 2nd edition. Though applicable to all genealogists, the changes respond to concerns about the use of genetic evidence in initial and renewal applications for credentialing. The trustees also approved answers to a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Standard 57, two other DNA-related standards, and other issues involving the use of DNA test results in genealogical work. For the newly revised Genealogist’s Code of Ethics, access https://bcgcertification.org/ethics-standards/code.

Following is the revised Standard 57 in its entirety:

Standard 57 (Revised). Respect for privacy rights. When publishing DNA test results, genealogists respect the privacy of living people. Genealogists refrain from publishing information derived from DNA test results that may cause harm. Genealogists publish personally identifying information about living test takers only with their informed consent. Assembled research results acknowledge living test-takers’ consents for publishing their data shown therein. [See the Genealogy Standards glossary for definition of DNA test results.]

A series of DNA Frequently Asked Questions are accessible on the BCG website at https://bcgcertification.org/learning/dna-resources/dna-frequently-asked-questions-faq.

An upcoming BCG-sponsored webinar, “Using DNA Results to Confirm a Pedigree” presented by Angela Packer McGhie, CG, demonstrates the use of DNA test results to confirm traditional research. Register free before 20 October at BCG’s partner Legacy Family Tree Webinars website (http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=5287) or view the webinar free for one week following the broadcast on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website.