44.4 million new records were added in the first half of September: 9.7 million from three new collections, and 34.7 million added to 6 existing collections from the Netherlands.

The new collections include a New York City Birth Index, a New York City Death Index, and the Australian World War II Nominal Roll, 1939–1945. The updates to existing Netherlands collections include Civil Deaths, Marriages, and Birth collections as well as Church Baptisms, Church Burials, and Church Marriages collections.

Here is a full breakdown of the new and updated record collections:

New York City Death Index, 1862–1948	An index to deaths recorded in New York City between 1862 and 1948.	5,317,387 records	Search collection now
New York City Birth Index, 1878–1909	An index to births recorded in New York City between 1878 and 1909.	2,233,470 new records	Search collection now
Australian World War II Nominal Roll, 1939–1945	An index of Australians who served in the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force or in the merchant navy during World War II.	2,235,950 new records	Search collection now
Netherlands, Civil Deaths, 1811-1965	An index to civil death records from throughout the Netherlands from 1811-1965.	11,545,542 new records were added for a total of 41,415,249 records.	Search collection now
Netherlands, Civil Marriages, 1811-1940	An index to civil marriage records from throughout the Netherlands from 1811-1940.	8,191,981 new records were added for a total of 28,131,957 records.	Search collection now
Netherlands, Church Baptisms, 1580-1811	An index to baptismal records from various churches and localities throughout the Netherlands from 1580- 1811.	5,845,541 new records added for a total of 23,631,397 records.	Search collection now
Netherlands Civil Births, 1811- 1915	An index to civil birth records from throughout the Netherlands from 1811- 1915.	5,205,680 new records were added for a total of 31,860,820 records.	Search collection now
Netherlands, Church Burials, 1601-1811	An index to burial records from various churches and localities throughout the Netherlands from 1601- 1811.	3,280,488 new records were added for a total of 5,327,033 records.	Search collection now
Netherlands, Church Marriages, 1580-1811	An index to marriage records (marriage banns and marriage ceremonies) from various churches and localities throughout the Netherlands from 1580- 1811.	634,386 new records were added for a total of 4,119,666 records.	Search collection now

New York City Death Index, 1862–1948

The 5,317,387 records in the New York City Death Index contains information on deaths recorded in New York City. This collection helps individuals in locating New York City death records between 1862 and 1948. It contains information on county and date of death, age at death, and certificate number.

Death certificates represent one of the key primary sources for family information. They were typically issued within days of a death and include many details about a person’s life. Frequently, they contain age, birthplace, parents’ names and birthplaces, and the cause of death.

Search New York City Death Index, 1862–1948

New York City Birth Index, 1878–1909

The 2,233,470 records in the New York City Birth Index contains information on births recorded in New York City. This collection helps individuals in locating New York City birth records between 1878 and 1909. This index contains the certificate number and information on county and date of birth.

Birth records represent one of the key primary sources for family information. They were typically issued within days of birth and contain the parents’ names at minimum. Many times they contain additional parental details, including places of birth, ages, number of children, and religious affiliation for baptism and christening records.

Search New York City Birth Index, 1878–1909

Australian World War II Nominal Roll, 1939–1945

This collection of 2,235,950 records consists of the World War II Nominal Roll of Australia. The roll was created as a commemoration project for Australians who served in the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force, or in the merchant navy during World War II. The records contain the following searchable information on the service person: surname, given name(s), date of birth, place of birth, date of enlistment, locality on enlistment, place of enlistment, and date of discharge. The surname and given name(s) for the person’s next of kin are also given.

Search Australian World War II Nominal Roll, 1939–1945

Netherlands, Civil Deaths, 1811–1965

This collection — which now totals 41,415,249 records — is an index to civil death records from throughout the Netherlands from the years 1811–1965. Records typically list the name of the deceased, age, death date, and death place. Sometimes the names of the deceased’s parents and/or spouse are also listed. Source information is provided to help locate the original record.

Civil registration — the recording of births, marriages, and deaths by civil authorities — was officially instituted in the Netherlands on March 1, 1811. However, in some areas of the Netherlands, civil records were kept as early as 1795.

Search Netherlands, Civil Deaths, 1811–1965

Netherlands, Civil Marriages, 1811–1940

This collection — which now totals 28,131,957 records — is an index to civil marriage records from throughout the Netherlands from 1811–1965. Records typically list the names of the bride and groom, their birthdates and birthplaces, occupations, parents’ names, and their marriage date and place. The names of former spouses, and the names of the witnesses are also often provided.

Search Netherlands, Civil Marriages, 1811–1940

Netherlands, Church Baptisms, 1580–1811

This collection — which now totals 23,631,397 records — is an index to baptismal records from various churches and localities throughout the Netherlands. Records typically list each child’s name, baptism date, birth date, and parents’ names.

Church records are extremely important because they are the primary source of vital information prior to the institution of civil registration. In the Netherlands, most people attended either the Dutch Reformed or Catholic churches, but other denominations existed as well. Please see the archive list below for locality coverage. The majority of the records date between 1580 and 1811, though the extent of year coverage can vary by locality.

Search Netherlands, Church Baptisms, 1580–1811

Netherlands Civil Births, 1811–1915

This collection — which now totals 31,860,820 records — is an index to civil birth records from throughout the Netherlands from 1811–1915. Records typically list each child’s name, birth date and place, and parents’ names. In some cases, other information such as the names of witnesses may also be provided.

Birth record Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher

The birth record of the famous Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher is in the collection. His work often explored mathematical ideas.

 

He was born on June 17, 1898 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, to George Arnold Escher, a civil engineer, and Sara Adriana Gleichman.

Search Netherlands Civil Births, 1811–1915

Netherlands, Church Burials, 1601–1811

This collection — which now totals 5,327,033 records — is an index to burial records from various churches and localities throughout the Netherlands from 1601–1811. Records typically list the name of the deceased, burial date, and burial place. In some cases, the deceased’s age, birthplace, and names of possible relatives may also be listed.

Search Netherlands, Church Burials, 1601–1811

Netherlands, Church Marriages, 1580–1811

This collection — which now totals 4,119,666 records — is an index to marriage records (marriage banns and marriage ceremonies) from various churches and localities throughout the Netherlands from 1580–1811. Records typically list the names of the bride and groom, their marriage date, residences, and religion.

Church marriage record Dutch landscape painter Jan van Goyen

Jan Josephszoon van Goyen was a well known 17th century Dutch landscape painter whose work greatly influenced the work of other landscape artists of his time. On August 5, 1618, Van Goyen married Annetje Willems van Raelst in Leiden, Netherlands. Their marriage record can be found in the Netherlands, Church Marriages, 1580–1811 collection.

 

Search Netherlands, Church Marriages, 1580–1811

Summary

All these newly updated collections are now available through MyHeritage SuperSearch™. Searching these records is free, but a Data or Complete subscription is required to view the records, save them to your family tree, and access Record Matches. Our Record Matching technology will get to work and notify you automatically if any of these records mention a member of your family tree. You’ll then have the ability to review the record and decide if you’d like to add the new information to your family tree.

Do you want to learn more about SuperSearch™ and Record Matching? Please visit our recently launched MyHeritage Education website where you’ll find practical tips and tricks, articles, how-to videos and more!

MyHeritage will continue to add new records to help you learn more about your ancestors’ lives and uncover your family’s past.

We hope you enjoy searching these newly updated collections. If you make any interesting new family history discoveries, let us know in the comments below!

The Missing Piece, the MyHeritage original documentary that had its world premiere this past weekend at MyHeritage LIVE in Amsterdam, is now publicly available. Watch the emotional and heartwarming documentary in its entirety here:

The Missing Piece is a powerful and inspiring film about hope and discovery. It tells the incredible story of two sisters, both abandoned as children, overcoming insurmountable odds to discover who they are and where they come from. It’s also a moving testament to the meaningful discoveries being made every day through MyHeritage.

MyHeritage LIVE 2019 in Amsterdam has concluded. To say that the future is bright at MyHeritage and its family history conferences would be an understatement. The second annual conference exceeded everyone's expectations, including mine. 450 people from 30 countries attended the live event, and tens of thousands tuned in via its live stream.

The conference was held at the Hotel Amsterdam. Here's the view from my hotel window. So beautiful!

MyHeritage treated conference attendees with a pre-conference a canal tour through Amsterdam.

We were then treated to a private screening of the world premiere of The Missing Piece - a powerful and inspiring documentary about hope and discovery that shares the story of two sisters, both abandoned as children, overcoming incredible odds to answer the questions of a lifetime. The sisters were actually at the event, and answered our questions after the movie concluded. Watch it here, but have tissues ready.

I was honored to open the conference...

...and introduce the keynote - MyHeritage's founder and CEO, Gilad Japhet. Gilad announced the acquisition of DNA products SNPedia and Promethease - a huge moment in consumer genetics.

He also unveiled the new Education Center, gave a sneak peak of the upcoming new ethnicity estimates, and announced several new record collections. Watch the recording here.

Here's me and about 450 of my new friends.

Saturday night's after party was groovy. We were entertained by both a Dutch folk dance group and the band, Beatlemania, from the UK.

Saturday I enjoyed teaching "Top Tech Tips for MyHeritage Users PLUS an Introduction to Family Tree Webinars"...

...and I was honored to moderate the panel with Prof. Yaniv Erlich, Diahan Southard, and Roberta Estes on the topic of DNA Testing for Health.

If you missed the classes, or want to view them again, watch them on MyHeritage's Facebook page here or watch them on our FamilyTreeWebinars.com site soon.

One of the most exciting announcements came in the closing session, where VP Aaron Godfrey unveiled where MyHeritage 2020 would be held: Israel! Although they didn't announce the dates yet, if you've always wanted to visit Israel, this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Would I recommend MyHeritage LIVE? Yes, without reservation, to everyone. Well done to the entire MyHeritage team, of which I am proud to be a member. I look forward to seeing you all in Israel in 2020!

Great news! All 25 classes from this weekend's 2-day MyHeritage LIVE conference in Amsterdam will be live-streamed. You'll miss out on the canal tours, live entertainment, yummy meals and mingling with other genealogists, but you'll get to learn from the likes of Leah Larkin, Blaine Bettinger, Gilad Japhet, Roberta Estes, Cyndi Ingle, Yvette Hoitink, Lisa Alzo, James Tanner, Geoff Rasmussen and others from the comfort of your home.

The live stream will be available on the MyHeritage LIVE website and on the MyHeritage Facebook page, so please tune in from 9:00 a.m. Amsterdam time on September 7th. If you need help calculating the time difference to your local time zone, you can use https://www.thetimezoneconverter.com/.

Make sure to visit the conference website to see the full schedule.

We're delighted to let you know that MyHeritage has released a fantastic French record collection — France, Nord Civil Marriages, 1792-1937 which includes 5.4 million civil records of marriages (1792-1937) for the French department of Nord that were collected by government authorities after the French Republic was proclaimed in 1792. The collection contains a detailed searchable index that details you won’t find on other websites. 

The collection is live in MyHeritage SuperSearch™ at: https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10726/france-nord-civil-marriages-1792-1937

In this collection, you’ll find rich details about the bride, groom, and their families, including the names of the bride and groom, their birth dates, birthplaces, marriage date and location, and the names of the bride’s and groom’s parents — including their mothers’ maiden surnames. Additional information about the death of one or more of the parents, along with witness names and details — often with recorded relationships to the bride and groom — can also be found.

The index that we created for this collection is unique in that it lists information that isn’t available on any other website, such as the estimated birth years of the bride and groom, and the names of their parents.

The collection on MyHeritage also includes beautiful scanned images of every record in a higher resolution than can be seen on some other sources.

The collection is available for searching on SuperSearch™, and users will receive Record Matches from this collection, revealing new information about their ancestors who appear in the records.

The collections provide robust coverage of during a span of 145 years making them a treasure trove of valuable family history information. They are sure to provide insight for anyone with roots in that region. 

To learn more about finding your French ancestors, view our webinars at FamilyTreeWebinars.com.

We are excited to announce that we have recently added 27,612,119 new records from four new collections to SuperSearch™: Australia Electoral Rolls, 1893-1949; Québec Marriage Licenses, 1926-1997; Honolulu, Hawaii Passenger Lists, 1900-1953; and Baltimore, Maryland Passenger Lists, 1891-1943.

Here is a breakdown of the newly added record collections:

Australia Electoral Rolls, 1893-1949	An index of electors in Australia registered to vote on Commonwealth electoral rolls between 1893 and 1949 in each of the six states of Australia.	16,306,739 records	Search collection now
Québec Marriage Licenses, 1926-1997	An index of marriage licenses filed in Québec, Canada from 1926 to 1997.	7,901,481 records	Search collection now
Honolulu, Hawaii Passenger Lists, 1900-1953	Passenger manifests of ships arriving at Honolulu, Hawaii, from 1900 through 1953.	1,777,740 records	Search collection now
Baltimore, Maryland Passenger Lists, 1891-1943	Passenger manifests of ships arriving at Baltimore, Maryland, from 1891 through 1948.	1,626,159 records	Search collection now

Click here for more information.

I just received this from MyHeritage about an update to the Theory of Family Relativity. Indeed, it is good news.

I have great news — we’ve just refreshed all the data for the Theory of Family Relativity™!

With this exciting update, you’ll get new and updated theories that explain how you and your DNA Matches may be related. This much-anticipated update may provide you with answers about relationships that have baffled you, as well as offer new insights about your ancestors and family relationships.

The Theory of Family Relativity™ scans billions of family tree profiles and historical records to craft detailed theories of how DNA Matches on MyHeritage may be related to each other. Since launching the feature in February, our DNA database has grown significantly, the number of family trees on MyHeritage has reached 45 million, existing trees have grown, and more historical records have been added to SuperSearch™.

A new notification system has been created to update MyHeritage users about new theories as they are discovered, one theory at a time. This email will be sent periodically, as of this week.

We hope that MyHeritage DNA users will enjoy the current update, which has more than doubled the number of theories available.

Read more about this update and some key facts and figures in the blog post.

The list of speakers and their sessions have now been announced for the 2nd annual MyHeritage LIVE conference. This year we will be in the beautiful city of Amsterdam. If you've always wanted to visit, and you want to mingle with other genealogists, this would be the perfect combination.

For more information, or to register visit https://live2019.myheritage.com.

MyHeritage is hosting a live genealogy seminar at its headquarters in Or Yehuda, Israel this Wednesday. If you're not in the area, but still want to attend classes taught by renowned genealogical educators Thomas MacEntee, Daniel Horowitz and Garri Regev, you can attend the live broadcasts (free) via FamilyTreeWebinars.com. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com/mhseminar2019.

The presentations include:

• Genealogy Pit Stop: Research in 15 Minute Increments by Thomas MacEntee
• MyHeritage: New Advanced Features and Technologies by Daniel Horowitz
• City Directories: No Town Too Small, No Clue Too Little by Thomas MacEntee
• APPsolutely Genealogy! by Garri Regev

We'll see you in Or Yehuda or online at FamilyTreeWebinars.com!

Passenger lists provide genealogists with key information about an ancestor's arrival in the New World. Once located, these records can help us discover an immigrant’s original name and potentially assist with determining an immigrant's place of origin.

The MyHeritage Immigration & Travel Collection includes passenger arrival records, naturalization records, border crossings, emigration records, passports, and convict transportation records. You will need a subscription or free 14-day trial to view your search results.

I started working on my genealogy in 1989 to learn more about my maternal grandmother, Verona Straka, and eventually published her story in my book Three Slovak Women. My early research involved family documents and interviews with my mother. My mother shared a story about how my grandmother was detained at Ellis Island for health reasons and almost did not make it into the United States.

At that time, I had no documentation to prove this story. In the old days of genealogy research (before online databases), obtaining a ship's manifest required a several step process of submitting forms to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. I did eventually track down the passenger list showing my grandmother's arrival in New York on 8 August 1922. There was a notation "hospital discharged" above her name, which meant she had spent time in the Ellis Island hospital upon arrival, and confirmed what my mother told me.

One of the benefits of indexed online immigration records is the possibility of more than one type of record turning up in the search results. So even if you have located the manifest for your ancestor through correspondence (as I did), via microfilm, or by using free sites such as The Statue of Liberty Foundation Ellis Island Database, FamilySearch, or subscription websites, it is worth searching for your ancestor’s name in all available immigration record collections.

The New York Passenger Lists on MyHeritage.com

I typed my grandmother's name into the "Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957" database collection on MyHeritage.com, and found her arrival record listed on the first page of results. This database contains over 113+ million records. My grandmother arrived in 1922 and the manifest spanned two pages consisting of 33 columns. MyHeritage has also indexed the answers to two vital supplemental questions: The name and address of the relative or friend whom they were joining in the USA (added to the form in 1897) and the name and address of their closest relative or friend in their home country (added in 1907), yielding an additional 26.6 million names to this database (see the post "New: Ellis Island and other New York Passenger Lists" from November 2017 on the MyHeritage Blog for details). So be sure to look for your ancestor’s name in these columns too. With a different search, I found my paternal grandfather listed as the "Relative joined in the U.S." on the 1920 passenger manifest for his sister. This is a great way to perform cluster and collateral searches.

Another benefit of searching for New York passenger lists on MyHeritage is being able to view a two-page manifest such as the one listing my grandmother as one whole image and not have to move forward or backward to see each individual page as with other databases (MyHeritage took the 2.2 million paired images and married the pages together resulting in 1.1 million stitched images). To learn more about this particular indexing project, watch the free Legacy Family Tree webinar “Find Your Immigrant Ancestors AND Their Relatives in the NY Passenger Arrival Records” by Mike Mansfield.

One More Result: My Favorite Ancestor Find

In addition to the main arrival record I located for my grandmother, one of the results returned was for a Record of Detained Alien Passengers for the Orduna, arriving in New York on 8 August 1922. This record is my favorite ancestor find because it not only confirmed a family story, but also gave me additional insights into the immigration experience of my maternal grandmother.

In her article "A Guide to Interpreting Passenger List Annotations" Marian L. Smith, Historian, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, explains the purpose of the Record of Detained Aliens form:  "Passenger list annotations from the early 1890's indicate that some immigrants were held or detained for further questioning, but there are no additional records on the microfilm about the detained immigrants. Beginning in 1903, at New York (Ellis Island), new forms came to be filed with each manifest and bound in the manifest volumes. One of these is the list or Record of Detained Aliens. Information on the record helps to clarify why a given immigrant was detained, how long they remained in detention, and how the case was resolved."  An electronic version of this article is found on the JewishGen website.

When I viewed The Record of Detained Alien Passengers for the Orduna, my grandmother's name was listed along with her cause of detention (Hosp. on arrival), the date and time of her discharge, and her next of kin, "Mother, Maria, 129 Crawford St. Duquesne, PA.” The “next of kin” information is actually incorrect as Maria was my grandmother’s sister, the mother of her niece, also named “Maria Straka” who traveled with my grandmother and also appears on the main passenger list. Passenger lists were prepared at the port of departure. The wrongly noted “next of kin” information” offers a good example of why we should always carefully evaluate any record we obtain about an ancestor.

Searching Other Ports

If your searches in the New York database collection are unsuccessful, you may be looking in records for the wrong port. While millions of immigrants arrived in the United States at the port of New York between 1820 and 1957, it is quite possible your ancestor landed elsewhere. The Immigration collection on MyHeritage also includes searchable indexes and/or records for the ports of Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Atlantic and Gulf Ports, as well as other collections such as Port of New York, Index to Discharged or Deserted Crew, 1917-1957, and United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925. For tips on immigration research, watch the free Legacy webinar "Following Your Family's Immigration Trail on MyHeritage."

Of course, your mileage and search success with immigration records may vary. But, as with any genealogy site, you should keep checking MyHeritage for new and updated database collections. You never know where you will find that new clue about an immigrant ancestor.

For over two decades, author and instructor Lisa A. Alzo has been educating and inspiring genealogists around the world to research and write about their ancestors. She has presented 44 webinars for Legacy Family Tree Webinars, include nine on Writing and Publishing. Lisa coaches aspiring family history writers through her online courses at Research, Write, Connect https://www.researchwriteconnect.com