I hope all of you have added the banner we’ve introduced some weeks ago to your websites. Today, we’ve got something new for your site. If you’re proud of your family tree or if you’d just like to tell the world that your family can be found on itsourtree.com, you can now add one (or more, of course ) of the banners below to your website. If you can, please link the image to us (http://www.itsourtree.com) so that we can be found more easily…

Last week’s poll results are as follows: about 50 % of our users search for their ancestors in online databases, another 31% use their own (inherited) documents for their genealogical research. As christmas is coming nearer, we’re asking about your family reunion’s frequency. Probably, most families meet at all the most important holidays and birthdays. But maybe, your family meets every month or so… It’s just one click to tell the world!

It’s Halloween tonight, and of course, we’ve got something for you: The cute little guy in the photo named Ottomar Rodolphe Vlad Dracula Prinz Kretzulesco is the last heir of the legendary Count Dracula himself. Mainly because his father was adopted by Dracula’s last known descendant, but anyway, he is now the last legal Dracula. If this is an honour or a burden, the little Vlad still has to find out in the future but he’s got some really well-known ancestors in his family tree…

(Source (in German): Bild.de)

Of course, it’s Halloween on Saturday and all the kids are excited, but let’s take a step back to the past and have a look at what All Saints’ Day’s purpose really is. Here, we find a lot of information on the topic and the reminder that All Saint’s Day’s custom was to celebrate a day in honour of all the saints and the next day, All Souls’ Day to commemorate all the departed. There are several customs in different parts of Europe (and Mexico) such as bringing flowers and candles to graves of deceased relatives. So why don’t you log in on itsourtree.com, have a look at your ancestors and think about a visit to the graveyard at the weekend?

A good (but rather expensive) addition to your online genealogy on itsourtree.com can be Family History Expos. There are several occasions and places you can go to find out more about genealogy. A overview of the expos can be found here. The next expo will be on October 27th-November 1st, 2008 in Salt Lake City. A calendar of the upcoming events is here.

Liked the site we recommended a couple of days ago? Here’s another site you will probably like: on MakeMeBabies.com, you can upload your photo and your husband’s/wife’s photo and the website automatically comes up with a photo of your family’s next generation. The characteristics of the images are combined and transformed into a child’s face. And, like it or not, on the site you can choose whether you’d like to "have" a son or a daughter. Okay, some of the babies might look a little… awkward… but most are really cute and the site is great fun to play with.

Last week, we wanted to know how many children you have. We were quite surprised that 30 % of you don’t have any children at all. Furthermore, 22 % have two kids and 18 % have three. This week, we’d like to find out what sources you use for your genealogical research. Do you dig for genealogical gold in Grandpa’s old treasure chest?

Ever wondered what you might have looked like in the past? Now, you can check it out on yearbookyourself.com. Simply upload a portrait picture of you and flip through the years. Your face will be fitted in portraits from the past. Hilarious! The page is definitely worth having a look at. Our recommendation is to save the images on your PC and compare them to your parents’ images from that time.

…and uhm, well… erm… we’re not entirely sure if it’s a giant leap for mankind and if it can be compared to landing on the moon, but it’s definitely a very good day for all genealogists out there. We’ve officially emerged from "Beta"!!! Of course, that doesn’t save us from bugs, but it definitely shows that our website has reached its maturity. We’ll keep up working hard on it every day to provide you with the best free family tree and genealogy features on the net. So enjoy the site and spread the word.

Remember the German competition?
We’re following the Olympic Spirit and see the nomination itself as an honour, because sadly, we only got 4th in the Online Star 2008 awards. But, there’s nothing to be sad about for long, as the 4th place out of 20 startup nominees is quite good, actually.

Without all those voted we got from you, we would not have made it that far, so thanks a lot for your support!!!

Of course, we congratulate the winners brands4friends (1st place), Doodle (2nd place) and Bransparent (3rd place).

We’ll celebrate our 4th place anyway