Press Release
MyHeritage teams up with BillionGraves and Tributes.com, adding millions of gravestone records and obituaries to its searchable database of historical records.
TEL AVIV, Israel & LEHI, Utah & BOSTON, MA & KAYSVILLE, Utah – October 30, 2013 – MyHeritage, the popular online family history network, has partnered with BillionGraves and Tributes.com, making new gravestone and obituary collections available to search on its service. With advanced technologies enabling the automatic discovery of these records, MyHeritage makes it easier for families everywhere to shed light on their family history.
MyHeritage has licensed 5.5 million records and images of gravestones from BillionGraves, bringing its total collection of gravestone records to more than 100 million. Packed with valuable information that helps tell the story of an ancestor’s life, such as birth and death dates, family members and epitaphs written by loved ones, gravestones often provide an emotional turning-point in family history research. These records are available for free on SuperSearch, MyHeritage’s advanced search engine for historical records.
By partnering with Tributes.com, MyHeritage has added 3.5 million obituaries to its search engine. MyHeritage users will enjoy access to additional information about their ancestors, as obituaries help paint a more colorful picture of the life of deceased family members.
Users with family trees on MyHeritage will receive Record Matches – alerts about any gravestones or obituaries (amongst other records) that have been automatically matched to their ancestors.
The addition of these new collections highlights MyHeritage’s commitment to increase the quantity and quality of records available for its users. It follows MyHeritage’s announcement earlier this month about its strategic partnership with FamilySearch to bring more than 2 billion additional records to MyHeritage.
“We’re excited to partner with BillionGraves and Tributes.com to deliver such fascinating and meaningful content to our users”, said Russ Wilding, Chief Content Officer at MyHeritage. “This is the type of information that adds color to our family histories and helps even experienced family historians break through brick walls in their research.”
“Partnering with MyHeritage is an important milestone in the exponential growth of BillionGraves, solidifying our position as a key international resource for families seeking accurate vital records,” said Hudson Gunn, President of BillionGraves.
With over half of the users on the BillionGraves network under the age of 30, BillionGraves’ free mobile technology reaches beyond the “traditional” genealogist and caters to a new rising generation of enthusiastic contributors.
“At Tributes.com we believe that every life has a story that deserves to be told and preserved”, said Elaine Haney, CEO & President of Tributes.com. “We’re delighted to be able to extend access to these records and stories to MyHeritage’s huge global audience, helping millions more make meaningful discoveries about their ancestors.”
Through one centralized national web destination, with 95 million and growing current and historical death records dating back to the 1930s, Tributes.com has made obituary and online memorial service information easily accessible.
About MyHeritage
MyHeritage is a family history network helping millions of families around the world discover and share their legacy online. As technology thought leaders and innovators, MyHeritage is transforming family history into an activity that’s more accessible, exciting, and easier than ever before. MyHeritage empowers its global community of users with unique social tools, a massive library of historical content, and powerful search and matching technologies. The service is available in 40 languages. For more information, visit www.myheritage.com.
Press Contact
Aaron Godfrey, PR Manager for MyHeritage
Phone: US +1-347-329-5461 | UK +44-208-816-7571
Email: aaron@myheritage.com
About BillionGraves
With more than 5.5 million headstone records created by over 57,000 volunteers in just two years, BillionGraves is the trusted resource for accurate and reliable GPS headstone and burial record data on the web. With users in more than 212 countries, the website is available in 11 different languages. Over 13 thousand records are added each day to the BillionGraves network and four thousand new registered users join every month. BillionGraves’ mobile GPS tracking technology on its mobile application perpetuates this progress, bringing a wealth of genealogical information right to your fingertips.
About Tributes.com
Tributes.com is the online source for current local and national obituary news and a supportive community where friends and family can come together during times of loss and grieving to honor the memories of their loved ones with lasting personal tributes.
The brand has experienced rapid growth since its launch in the fall of 2008, and is now relied on by thousands of funeral homes and over four million unique consumers each month to publish and locate obituary news. For more information about Tributes.com, visit the website at www.tributes.com or contact media@tributes.com.
