Every now an then big news hits to genealogy grapevine, and the latest that fits that category is that Findmypast has just acquired RootsFinder.
For those who are not familiar with RootsFinder, it is a free website for you to put you family tree on, “that makes family history easy to research and easy to share and integrates with FamilySearch”. They launched in 2017 and were in the RootsTech Innovator Showdown Final, (you can read about that here), and from there, they just keep improving.
Just last week there was an announcement came saying “the free family history website RootsFinder.com announces that in addition to its previous support for importing matches from GEDmatch, users can now import their autosomal DNA matches from Ancestry.com, 23andMe, MyHeritage, and FamilyTreeDNA. Matches from these DNA testing companies can then be “tagged” to the user’s family tree for analysis and further research.”
The Press Release about that acquisition says the following …
Leading family history website, Findmypast, has acquired RootsFinder Inc. and their critically acclaimed RootsFinder family tree product, including new features to help customers analyze their DNA results.
The acquisition reflects Findmypast’s drive to innovate and enhance their customer experience by providing users with new ways to curate, share and explore their family history discoveries.
The acquisition will serve to help Findmypast and it’s partners accelerate development towards the new “Findmypast Tree” – a continuing effort that seeks to connect users anywhere in the world and offer them the opportunity to discover their family history by working together.
Founded in 2014 by Dallan Quass, RootsFinder is a free online family tree builder that provides users with the ability to collect and store data from a variety of online sources, engaging ways to capture and visualize media, family connections as well as powerful tools to analyze DNA results. RootsFinder has established itself as popular resource for genealogists across the world and was selected as a semi-finalist in the 2017 RootsTech Innovator Showdown.
Findmypast will look to make use of a number of RootsFinder features in the development of the new tree including data storage, enhanced gedcom uploads, community collaboration, DNA visualizations, error checking and 3rd party hints. These features will enable family historians to improve accuracy and uncover new leads through collaboration with fellow researchers.
There are no plans to change the features and services RootsFinder users currently enjoy and RootsFinder will continue to operate as a standalone product for the foreseeable future.
RootsFinder founder, Dallan Quass, will be joining the Findmypast team as SVP of Family History Technology and will assist with future integration work and development of the new tree. Dallan brings with him a wealth of experience in building family history platforms, machine learning, and search technologies.
Dallan Quass, founder of RootsFinder said: “Findmypast’s commitment to novice and experienced genealogists alike is inspiring. We are thrilled to be part of their drive to make family history discoveries fun and rewarding for everyone regardless of skill level. Using extensive record collections and leading-edge technology, Findmypast and RootsFinder will help more people than ever before to discover who they are.”
Tamsin Todd, CEO of Findmypast said: “With RootsFinder, Dallan Quass has once again demonstrated his passion for innovating in family history. We are excited to add a product that is so well regarded by genealogists to the Findmypast family, and it will form a key part of our product roadmap as we work to make family history accessible and easy for users at all stages of their discovery journeys.”
