The Genealogy Guys Podcast #243 - 2012 November 4

The news includes:

• Ancestry.com agrees to a $1.6 billion buyout by Permira Advisors LLP.
• The governor and secretary of state of Georgia have announced that funding for the Georgia State Archives has been reinstated for the remainder of this fiscal year.
• FamilySearch continues to digitize and index millions of records and The Guys give an update.
• FamilySearch has been recognized for its "continued dedication and support" of African-American family history at the 2nd International Black Genealogy Summit held in Salt Lake City on October 18-20, 2012.
• WikiTree has announced the release of "MatchBot", a new automated matching tool.
• Origins.net has announced the addition of the first 25 of 176 Irish directories to its service.
• The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) has announced its new Board of Trustees, and additions of a one-hour video about certification and testimonials to its website.

Listener email includes:

• Mac tells us that he was able to obtain records from the U.S. Veterans Administration's Freedom of Information Office for an ancestor who was a Spanish-American War veteran. They conducted a BIRLS (Beneficiary Information and Records Locator Search).
• Doug discusses Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK).
• Sharon tells us that the search for Ellen Chance (discussed on a previous episode) should have included both Ancestry.com and findmypast for both passenger lists and departure records.
• Brad asks for advice about his large genealogy publishing project.
• Jane shares information about Merchant Marine records, and particularly about a list published by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service.
• Dennis discusses Reunion 9 and MacFamilyTree.
• Helen asks about possible resources for tracing an ancestor who may have been slain by Native Americans in Iowa in 1858.