FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 1, 2004

For Further Information Contact:
Elaine Fraim, Media Coordinator
(908) 963-1277

Genealogy Today (www.genealogytoday.com) is pleased to announce the release of their enhanced surname search engine, along with a new subscription database service.

The new search engine replaced the existing search, and visitors automatically receive the new optimized results whenever they perform a last name search. Results are now sorted by the number of matching surname records in each resource; thus reducing the amount of time visitors spend looking for relevant information. In addition to providing more relevant results, the new search engine is several times faster than the previous one.

"By far searching on surnames is the most popular activity for online genealogists. Improving our search engine to better highlight the information we've published in the past few years was an important initiative for 2003," commented Illya D'Addezio, owner of Genealogy Today. "I'm excited that we've accomplished our goal and have made the site a more effective resource for researchers."

Integrated into the new search engine are results from a new subscription database of secondary source materials called the Family Tree Connection. This database is a growing collection of data indexed from a variety of sources such as high school and college yearbooks, city directories, local club member lists, souvenir passenger lists, church records and much, much more.

"Over the past several years, we've collected hundreds of rare documents, pamphlets and unique out-of-print books that contain genealogical tidbits about people from around the world," added Illya. "Now we are making this extensive library available through an online database service available exclusively from Genealogy Today."

The Family Tree Connection project is all about capturing details about the lives of ancestors -- from their early years in school, through college and then in their careers and spare time (i.e. hobbies and group activities). Surprisingly, many clubs and organizations kept close track of their members, even after they moved out of town or passed away. And some schools recorded the progress of their alumni (including marriages). The Family Tree Connection database is a collection of the valuable information contained in these unique sources.

Subscriptions are available for $29.95 for 12 months of access and include unlimited access to the database, a 5% discount on all purchase made in the Genealogy Today Store, and a 50% discount on all scanning fees.

"We are excited to offer this valuable resource to family researchers, and hope it will help our visitors make many "connections" in the years ahead!"

For more information visit http://www.genealogytoday.com/search/

About GenealogyToday.com
GenealogyToday.com has been serving a growing audience of genealogy enthusiasts since 1999 and earning accolades along the way. The site features original articles from several experienced genealogists and writers, along with unique databases and search tools.

Visit our "contact us" page for additional inquiries.

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