In addition to providing a vast resource for finding more information about your relatives, the newly updated U.S. Yearbook Collection is also littered with images of famous Americans from the last century. We have included a special gallery that features some of them here; but there are hundreds more to be found in the collection.  Enter the Find the Famous Yearbook Photo Sweepstakes on Facebook to locate additional photos of high-profile people and a winner will be chosen randomly.

The contest is quite simple to enter. All users need to do is visit the new U.S. Yearbooks Collection, think of a famous person and get searching. Once you have found their photo, crop the image so just the person is featured and save it. Then visit our Facebook page and click the Contests tab on the left hand side to enter and upload your photo.

The contest starts today and will end on September 7^th. The winner will be announced on Ancestry.com’s Facebook page September 8^th. We wish you good luck and happy searching!

Have you always wanted to ask a family history expert a question about your own genealogy research? Now’s your chance! Join family history expert Juliana Smith in Ancestry.com’s first ever Live Chat on Twitter! Using TweetChat, Juliana will answer questions about how to successfully discover your family history both in real time and from previously submitted questions. All you need is a Twitter account to participate. If you aren’t on Twitter yet, then be sure to join at www.twitter.com and direct your questions to the hashtag #acomchat to participate in the chat!

**What is a hashtag you ask? A hashtag is a “group” designation on Twitter. People search on Twitter by typing in an abbreviated name with number sign  #acomchat or #familyhistory among many other topics to see what people are posting on those subjects.

This TweetChat will take place on Thursday, July 28, (at 8PM EDT/5PM PDT) using the #acomchat hashtag. 

Juliana Smith is an expert on the topic of genealogy and family history and has been an editor of Ancestry.com newsletters for more than 13 years. She is also the current editor of the Ancestry Weekly Discovery. She also wrote the “Computers and Technology” chapter in The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy, rev. 3rd edition and presents free webinars that are available in the Ancestry.com Learning Center.

To keep the questions to the most relevant possible, Juliana recommends submitting around the following topics:
 
– Search tips for Ancestry.com
– Problem-solving strategies
– Tips for finding ancestors in specific collections
– How to use historical details to liven up your family tree

**How Do You Participate? 
On the day of the event, go to www.tweetchat.com/room/acomchat to follow the #acomchat and log-in to TweetChat from your personal Twitter account. During the event, you can follow the discussion, contribute questions, and submit your own comments by using the same hashtag. Please send a message to @ancestrydotcom during the conversation with any technical issues you may have. 
 
**How to submit your questions in advance of the TweetChat:
1) Follow Ancestry.com on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/ancestrydotcom) 
2) Once we receive a message that you’re following us, we’ll follow you back!
3) After you receive a message confirming that we’re following you too please visit our Twitter page at www.twitter.com/ancestrydotcom and click on the mail icon to send us a private / direct message with your question
 
To submit your questions during the TweetChat, please send a tweet to Ancestry.com on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ancestrydotcom) using the hashtag #acomchat in your post. 

**How do I use Twitter?

If you haven’t used Twitter before, it’s easy to get started. Just visit www.twitter.com and create a user name and a password. You will also need to submit an active email address. Your user name will be the name associated with you on Twitter. Just like Ancestry.com is twitter.com/ancestrydotcom, you may be twitter.com/janiesmith. After that, sign into your Twitter account, go to www.twitter.com/ancestrydotcom and click “Follow” to get “tweets” aka messages, within 140 characters each, from Ancestry.com. You can “reply all” to a message by clicking “retweet” so that people following you can see a message you want to share with them or write one yourself, within 140 characters per message.

**What is a TweetChat? 
A TweetChat is merely the online forum in which a conversation occurs and its proceeding are posted for reading or engagement. TweetChat.com (www.tweetchat.com) is the online platform that allows anyone with a Twitter handle / account to log-in to TweetChat and enter a hashtag to follow an entire conversation on one screen.

If you missed any of the intriguing and emotional episodes from Season 2 of Who Do You Think You Are? then you’ll have a second chance to enjoy the journeys of America’s favorite celebrities starting this weekend. Throughout the summer, NBC will begin airing encores of the eight original episodes from earlier this year and we couldn’t be more excited. Last season’s premiere episode will air this Saturday, July 16 on NBC at 8/7c. Ashley Judd’s episode will repeat the following Friday, July 22 at the same time. The remainder of the episodes will run on Saturday’s at 8p/7c with a few exceptions. Check your local listings for the latest information or visit www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are for more weekly information.

Season 2 featured eight of your favorite stars, including Tim McGraw, Gwyneth Paltrow and Lionel Richie tracing their family roots through the centuries. Relive their experiences as they solve family mysteries, make discoveries, and connect with family lines they’ve never known before. One finds a family of trailblazers who stood firm against social opposition to gain freedom for all; another uncovers his own family’s rags-to-riches real estate tale with ties to America’s founding fathers. And the list of discoveries goes on and on.

Ancestry.com is a proud sponsor of the show and we’re very happy to report that Season 3 is currently in production and will return with all new episodes in 2012!

Ancestry.com has launched a photo contest in search of the best 4th of July family photo from this year’s celebrations or years past. Participants are invited to enter the 4th of July photo contest through Ancestry.com’s Facebook page – just click the “Contests” tab – or follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/Ancestry.com?sk=app_95936962634

Be sure to submit your photo by midnight PDT on July 13th. Finalists will be chosen, and our Facebook fans will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite photo until July 21st. If your photo receives the most fan votes, you’ll win a FREE World Deluxe Annual Membership!

Don’t forget, if you can’t get enough of Independence Day, you can also research and discover whether or not your ancestors fought for the reason we celebrate July 4th. By searching the newly released Sons of the American Revolution Collection – you may find that one of your ancestors was a supporter of the American Revolution. In these records, you would also learn that Theodore Roosevelt was related to Jacobus (James) and proved that his ancestor acted as commissary for the New York troops. Harry S. Truman’s SAR application proves that his revolutionary ancestor, James Holmes, served as an Ensign for the Virginia State Regiment. See what else you might discover by searching the collection. http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2204

Whether your family goes back a few years or more than 200 years, taking the time to dig through your family’s history may turn up some interesting discoveries. Who knows what you’ll find? A great family photo might just win you a free year of access to great collections like the Sons of the American Revolution Applications – in addition to more than 6 billion other records!