On March 1st, WorldVitalRecords.com will launch 100 databases, the largest number of databases it has ever launched in one day. All of the databases will be free to access for 10 days. These datasets will include records from a variety of countries, such as Canada, England, Germany, and Switzerland. Many of these datasets are being scanned from Everton's Genealogical Library and are being made available online for the first time ever at WorldVitalRecords.com.
I first became acquainted with WorldVitalRecords.com at the National Genealogical Society Conference in June 2006. At this point, the company hadn't officially launched. I was excited to see another potential player in the genealogy industry. Since that time, I have watched WorldVitalRecords.com grow – I have visited with them at a variety of conferences, including the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference (FGS), as well as the 22nd Annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour, directed by Leland Meitzler.
WorldVitalRecords.com officially launched in October 2006 and is growing rapidly. In the few months since its launch, WorldVitalRecords.com has surpassed its first subscriber milestone, with visitors from more than 141 countries, including Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Here are a few exciting things that are happening at WorldVitalRecords.com:
International Community Pages
A "must see" place to visit at WorldVitalRecords.com is the set of International Community Pages. They currently have more than 31 international pages on their site. See the list below of all the countries.
Each international community page contains a search engine that can be used to access the top genealogical and family history Web sites related to that country. Keywords related to the country's historical background, languages, provinces, a map of the country, and a flag are also available. The pages are free to access and they help genealogists save time by finding the most relevant sites for their genealogical research.
Wonderbases
Another recent feature that you may not have heard of yet is WorldVitalRecords.com weekly Wonderbase. They define a "Wonderbase" as a large genealogy database that is received with great excitement in the industry. They are based upon the number of records, uniqueness, and/or richness of content. The next Wonderbase WorldVitalRecords.com will launch is the 70 volumes of parish registers from England.
Here are a few more WonderBases that they will launch over the next month:
- World War II Army Enlistment Records
- Passengers that Arrived at the Port of New York during the Irish Famine
- Rhode Island Genealogies and Biographies
- Irish Land Records
- New Jersey Vital Records
I am currently an affiliate for WorldVitalRecords.com and have enjoyed watching this company grow and bring genealogical information to the world over the past few months. They have collaborated with several key genealogical partners including Everton, SmallTownPapers®, and Susan Easton Black (LDS author and historian). If you haven't visited the site, I invite you to take a look.
