As you know we recently launched the fourth version of our free genealogy software, the Family Tree Builder. It had a lot of exciting new features, such as more photo options, family chat and a family toolbar and a feature to map your family's migration patterns.
The news about the new Family Tree Builder didn't go unnoticed; many of you wrote about the launch or reviewed the program. Therefore we would like to show our appreciation for the attention you've given to the news and share some of the best coverage here.
A big thank you to genealogists, journalists and bloggers:
In Israel:
Ayelet Noff - Blonde 2.0
For interviewing our Marketing Manager Mario about MyHeritage.com and the Family Tree Builder and publishing about the Family Tree Builder on thenextweb, SocialMediaBiz and Blonde 2.0.
This week the media drew attention to a dark page in the history of Australia and the United Kingdom. Many of you know about the convicts that were shipped from the UK to Australia, but what came to light in recent weeks was that this wasn't the last wave of forced migration; seven thousand English kids from deprived backgrounds were also sent to Australia after the Second World War. In total 150,000 British children are believed to have been sent to Commonwealth countries.
Australian premier Kevin Rudd apologized this week to the British children, most of them from deprived backgrounds, who were sent to Australia, often to be put in foster homes or forced to work on farms. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown will do the same in the new year.
These children -often without even a passport or other documentation- were sent abroad with the promise of a better life,
MyHeritage.com is a lot more flexible than you might expect, as we offer a vast range of functionalities for the family researcher. If you're the Site Manager of a Family Site, you can find an array of tools and functions to help you out in the Settings tab, located in the main menu. Take a look through the pages of this section and you'll be amazed by the power you actually have to make MyHeritage's platform work the way you want, and look the way you want it to.
Recently I spoke with Paul Schwartz of Planned Television Arts, a media publicity company representing Evergreens Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. This verdant cemetery has been labeled a National Historic Landmark and dubbed an 'oasis for the refreshment of the city's soul and body' in the recently published book Green Oasis in Brooklyn. A green oasis it is; the grounds meander 225 manicured acres, jogging back and forth between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The cemetery was designed by influential period architects, Alexander Jackson Davis and Andrew Jackson Downing in 1849 as a non-sectarian burial ground.
Phil Wood, 64, from Whittington, England, has been with MyHeritage.com now for quite a few years. Having done extensive research into his family history, he's come across a number of interesting stories, including a rather dark tale from his family's distant past. He shares this story with us here.
Phil Wood at age 7
A very distant relative of mine, John Westwood, was born 1802 in Hammerwich and married Sarah Parker at the age of 20. The couple subsequently had seven children so life was hard, and making ends meet was a daily task. Thus, to help with their money John and Sarah rented out a room to a lodger, Samuel Phillips - a Nailor who was employed as a farm labourer come harvest time. Years went by and the family was on good terms until one day John found out Samuel had been romancing his wife. A fight ensued, witnessed by the whole neighbourhood, which John won. Afterwards he became possessive, ordered his wife to stop going with Samuel, and tried locking her indoors. But Sarah proved a defiant wife, swearing at John, threatening to leave him and continuing to see Samuel.
Have you ever wondered who is your oldest living relative, or what is the most common birth month of your family? How about who married the youngest, who had the most children, and whose marriage didn't make it?
Now you can access all this information easily with Family Statistics, MyHeritage.com's new analytics feature. This new feature puts at your fingertips 45 original metrics to breathe new life into your family tree and help point out errors in its data. The Family Statistics feature is 100% free and is easily accessible from both your home page and the reports page of your family site, providing visually appealing trends both numerically and in colorful charts and graphs. Best of all, the more your tree grows the more interesting and impressive the stats become.
So what can you do with the new stats?
Click on the Family Stats button (see image on left) on the home page of your family site to access the stats overview page. Here you will get a taste of the valuable information of the stats feature.
Find out about the family's gender divide, the living versus deceased in your tree, even chart the relationship status of your entire family tree. Your overview stats page also acts as a portal to six additional zones: places, ages, births, marriages, children, and divorces. Click on the links and explore more stats.
Politicians, stay-at-home dads, academics and businesswomen - they all know the value of family and the joys of keeping in touch. But what is on their family photos? How often do they call their mother, and what celebrity do they secretly admire? Get ready to find out through the MyHeritage interview series!
Trevor Cairney and Family
Father and grandfather, Master of Australia's New College, former teacher, academic and educational blogger Trevor Cairney helps others learn about children and education. To that end he embraced new technology and started a blog in 2008 on which he shares his research and writing on education with parents, teachers and trainee teachers. There he discusses topics such as literacy, education and communication. Keen to learn himself, Trevor enjoys the interaction of a blog and so he was happy to interact with MyHeritage.com on this occasion.
In these unsure economic times we know families across the globe are feeling the pinch. With wallets being tightened and less money being spent it seems all of us are affected in some way, shape or form.
But we're wondering how exactly is the current economic climate affecting our readers? After all, we're interested in the factors that bring families together and conversely what keeps them apart. While most families will associate the current climate with difficulties, perhaps because of job stress, loss of income and a lower standard of living, there are also reports of families who feel this period has led to positive developments. Perhaps the current financial difficulties are bringing families together more often than before, perhaps families are returning to a more modest, yet more enjoyable life style or perhaps the hardship has brought some families closer together.
That's why we're asking you, has the financial climate had a positive effect on your family? Vote below and let us know! And feel free to comment on how exactly it has brought you closer together.
This weekend many of you will be celebrating Halloween. In the past, the day marked the start of the dark winter, a time when the Celts, the supposed founders of the Halloween concept, believed the dead came back to earth. Nowadays, most of us see it just as a day, or better night, of bonfires, ghosts, vampires, witches, pumpkins and trick or treats.
Celebrated from Ireland to Mexico, Halloween practices are varied: perhaps you'll be out trick or treating with your kids, like in the US; making bonfires, as they do in Ireland; or honouring the dead with flowers or fresh food, as in Spain.
If you're stuck for something to do though, here a few of our own ideas on how to spend your Halloween:
Barack Obama's ancestry never ceases to amaze. Over the past year we've heard of his Irish roots, his ancestors from the Luo tribe in Kenya, and his unexpected 8th cousin, Dick Cheney. This week even more has been revealed about his family tree, from the unlikely research of a seventh-grade schoolgirl.
BridgeAnn d'Avignon, pictured here, from Monte Vista Christian School in California, has made some startling discoveries about Barack Obama's heritage. With the help of her 80-year-old grandfather, who has been researching presidential genealogy for six decades, BridgeAnn claims to have discovered that Barack Obama is related to every single American president in history except one, Martin Van Buren.
This week we've added another language, so your family site can be displayed in as many as 35 different languages. As you'll see in your language options, we now offer Catalan as well.
We have received a lot of user requests about Catalan, so we are happy to be able to offer it now. For those of you who are not familiar with the Catalan language - it's a Roman language officially spoken in Andorra and some regions in Spain, such as Catalonia and Valencia. It is also spoken in parts of Italy and France. Over 7 million people speak the language worldwide, so a good reason for us to support the language on our site.
In fact you probably know some words that are taken from Catalan; aioli, the garlic and olive dip and aubergine (also known as eggplant), as well as the rice and fish dish paella originate from Catalan but are now widely adapted words in English.
We hope you'll enjoy this new option - Salut!
If your language is still not among the 35 or you want to help improving existing translations, we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at: translate [at] myheritage [dot] com.
If you are following the world of genealogy, you've probably heard of the hugely successful Who Do You Think You Are TV show, a series of programs following well-known Brits on a journey to trace their family histories. The first UK series aired in 2007, and in its fourth season the show was watched by over 6.8 million people in the UK! Real proof that genealogy captures many people's imaginations, not only online but also on TV.
What you may not know is that the first series of the Australian equivalent has just started. Throughout the eight episodes each subject goes on a personal journey to discover his or her family's past and its role in who they are today.
The news about the new Family Tree Builder didn't go unnoticed; many of you wrote about the launch or reviewed the program. Therefore we would like to show our appreciation for the attention you've given to the news and share some of the best coverage here. 
This week the media drew attention to a dark page in the history of Australia and the United Kingdom. Many of you know about the convicts that were shipped from the UK to Australia, but what came to light in recent weeks was that this wasn't the last wave of forced migration; seven thousand English kids from deprived backgrounds were also sent to Australia after the Second World War. In total 150,000 British children are believed to have been sent to Commonwealth countries. 
Take a look through the pages of this section and you'll be amazed by the power you actually have to make MyHeritage's platform work the way you want, and look the way you want it to.
In these unsure economic times we know families across the globe are feeling the pinch. With wallets being tightened and less money being spent it seems all of us are affected in some way, shape or form.
This weekend many of you will be celebrating Halloween. In the past, the day marked the start of the dark winter, a time when the Celts, the supposed founders of the Halloween concept, believed the dead came back to earth. Nowadays, most of us see it just as a day, or better night, of bonfires, ghosts, vampires, witches, pumpkins and trick or treats. 
Barack Obama's ancestry never ceases to amaze. Over the past year we've heard of his 
This week we've added another language, so your family site can be displayed in as many as 35 different languages. As you'll see in your language options, we now offer Catalan as well. 
In fact you probably know some words that are taken from Catalan; aioli, the garlic and olive dip and aubergine (also known as eggplant), as well as the rice and fish dish paella originate from Catalan but are now widely adapted words in English. 
If you are following the world of genealogy, you've probably heard of the hugely successful Who Do You Think You Are TV show, a series of programs following well-known Brits on a journey to trace their family histories. The first UK series aired in 2007, and in its fourth season the show was watched by over 6.8 million people in the UK! Real proof that genealogy captures many people's imaginations, not only online but also on TV.
on In France, October is a good time to get married!: Very nice
Harold Davidson on Australian Who Do You Think You Are Series : I was very
Mari V on MyHeritage revolutionizes tagging people in photos: I agree wi