February 2018

Have you taken a DNA test for genealogy? On this day in 1953, scientists James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the chemical structure of DNA. Their revolutionary discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA would forever change the study of genetics and heredity. Crick was born on June 8, 1916 in Weston Favell, Northamptonshire, England. His grandfather, Walter Drawbridge Crick, was an amateur naturalist who corresponded with Charles Darwin. From a young age, Crick had a strong interest in… Read the full story

Have you ever met someone at a conference and wanted to quickly see if you’re related? Now you can use the Geni Pathfinder, our new handy tool on your mobile device to easily discover how you’re related to the people you meet at genealogy conferences, family reunions, or anywhere else! Begin by navigating to this url on your mobile device: https://www.geni.com/pathfinder (you will be prompted to login, if you have not already). A QR code and… Read the full story

Remember reading The Grapes of Wrath? On this day in 1902, author John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California. Considered one of the great American novelists, Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. Steinbeck was the son of Olivia Hamilton, a former school teacher, and John Ernst Steinbeck, who served as Monterey County treasurer. Growing up in a small rural town, Steinbeck spent his summers working on nearby ranchers alongside migrant workers. Many of… Read the full story

Today we remember English poet John Keats, who died on this day in 1821 at the age of 25. The young poet had devoted his life to poetry, publishing three books of poetry before his death. Although his poems were not generally well received by critics during his lifetime, today Keats is regarded as one of the most beloved English poets history. Keats was born on October 31, 1795 in Moorgate, London, England to Thomas Keats… Read the full story

Next week the Geni team will be heading to Salt Lake City, Utah for RootsTech 2018, the world’s largest genealogy conference. Between February 28 – March 3, thousands of genealogists from around the world will gather at the Salt Palace Convention Center to learn more about the latest in the world of genealogy. This year has an exciting group of keynote speakers, including Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton and renowned genealogist Henry Louis Gates, Jr. With… Read the full story

Today marks George Washington’s 286th birthday! Washington was born on February 22, 1732 on his family’s plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Remembered as one of the most important figures in American history, Washington led the Continental Army to victory during the American Revolution and went on to serve as the nation’s first president. Recently, a researcher at the Schaffer Library in New York discovered what is believed to be a lock of George Washington’s hair… Read the full story

On this day in 1728, Peter III of Russia was born. The Russian ruler served as Emperor of Russia for a mere 6 months before he was overthrown by his wife, Catherine the Great. Peter III was the son of Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, a nephew of Charles XII of Sweden, and Anna Petrovna, the daughter of Emperor Peter I. Born in Kiel, in the duchy of Holstein-Gottorp, both of Peter’s parents died when he… Read the full story

On this day in 1902, photographer and environmentalist Ansel Adams was born in San Francisco, California. He is best remembered for his iconic black and white photos of the American wilderness, especially those of Yosemite National Park. Adams was the only child born to Charles Hitchcock Adams and Olive Bray. His grandfather founded a prosperous lumber business, which his father eventually inherited. Adams would later come to condemn the lumber industry for cutting down many of… Read the full story

Happy Chinese New Year! Also known as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, the new year is celebrated according to the lunar calendar with each year associated with one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. Today marks the first day of the Year of the Dog on the lunar calendar. In celebration of the new year, here are some things to know about the holiday: 1. At the core of the holiday is family… Read the full story

On this day in 1809, Charles Darwin was born. Darwin’s theory of evolution by the process of natural selection transformed the world’s understanding of nature. In commemoration of his enormous contributions to science, his birthday is celebrated each year as Darwin Day. Darwin was born at his family home, the Mount, in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The large home was built by his father, Robert Darwin, a wealthy society doctor and financier. His paternal grandfather was Erasmus Darwin, a renowned… Read the full story

Geni curator Randy Schoenberg recently gave a great webinar, “Introducing the Geni World Family Tree,” with Legacy Family Tree webinars. If you missed it, you can catch it now in the video below. Join Randy as he gives a great introduction to the benefits of collaboration in the World Family Tree and discusses why you should be building and preserving your family tree on Geni. Randy also talks about some of the unique features of Geni, including genealogy projects, which… Read the full story

Do you have any poets in your family? On this day in 1874, American poet Amy Lowell was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. A leading poet of the Imagist school of poetry, Lowell was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926. Amy Lawrence Lowell was born into a prominent New England family. Her brother, Percival Lowell, was an astronomer whose work would lead to the discovery of Pluto. In fact, the dwarf planet’s name was… Read the full story

Geni curator Jarrett Ross, also known as the GeneaVlogger, recently made a great video on how to use Projects on Geni. Projects are a great way to organize your research about any particular topic and work with others who are also interested in that same research topic. By adding relevant profiles to the project, all project collaborators can easily work together to add new discoveries to the World Family Tree. If you are interested in a particular genealogy research subject, you can quickly start a… Read the full story

We recently asked this question on Facebook, “What’s the oldest photograph you have of an ancestor?” We received so many great responses that we thought it would be great to share some of the beautiful photographs we received. Check out a few of our favorite photos below and feel to share some from your own collection of old photographs in the comments below! Felipe Vargas Brignardello: The oldest picture I have is from 1864, in the middle is… Read the full story

Remember watching Charlie’s Angels? On this day in 1947, star Farrah Fawcett was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. Ferrah Leni Fawcett was the youngest of two daughters born to Pauline Alice Evans, a homemaker, and James William Fawcett, an oil field contractor. After generating interest from various agencies, Fawcett dropped out of the University of Texas to try her luck in Hollywood. Fawcett quickly booked several commercials and television guest spots. Her big break came in 1976 when she… Read the full story