Don’t Expect the Genealogical Helper to Reemerge

Several months ago I blogged that it looked like The Genealogical Helper was about to be sold. I was even offered a job to work as publisher and editor of the “new” Helper. That offer was contingent on the purchase of the assets of the company. Following that blog, made just after the NGS Conference in Raleigh, things seemed to not necessarily fall apart, but they slowed down even more than before. I kept waiting to hear something, but found myself just waiting. Some of my authors actually kept their articles updated, based on the hope that “good news” was forthcoming. It never happened. Things just got more complicated. It seems the City of Logan actually owned the “Everton” brand, so negotiations had to take place with the city. Then the buyer seems to have gotten cold feet about publishing a magazine.

So it’s drug on and on. I’ve given up. I went for 7 months hoping to be rehired by someone. This evening, one of the Everton board members sent me a note that she says is going out “to customers who are sending us e-mails.”

In the beautiful Jan/Feb/March issue of the 50 year old Everton Genealogical Helper Magazine we announced that we were going quarterly. We later began to look for a new company and publisher to take over the magazine. We have been and are in very serious negotiations. That deal needs to be finalized within the next ten days or it will not happen. As a backup, we are now talking to another company to take it over if the first deal does not go through.

As you may know, about five years ago, we saved both the Everton Library,(30,000 unique genealogical volumes which were going to be sold at a garage sale on the lawn but are now housed in the Logan Library) and the Genealogical Helper magazine because we were genealogists who had loved the Helper for years. We honored all old subscriptions, then we honored all subscriptions for Heritage Quest Magazine when they went out of business. We are trying to find someone to take over our subscriptions now. We appreciate and love all our customers who helped save the library and magazine for 5 more years. We’ve written to many of you over the years and feel like friends.

We are in mourning for this grand old magazine. We will send you an e-mail when we know more. Please keep us in your thoughts.

Thanks so much for your patience.

So – that’s the current state of affairs in Logan, Utah. I wish the news were better. Patty and I have burned through a lot of savings while hoping to be rehired. Unemployment was never an option, as we own Family Roots Publishing, which muddied the financial waters. But, on the bright side, Family Roots Publishing, and the Salt Lake Christmas Tour, are both growing and profitable, so that’s where we will concentrate our efforts from this point forward. When there’s more news as to the disposition of the Everton assets and fulfillment of subscriptions, I’ll pass it on as a blog entry on GenealogyBlog. I’ve now been promised that I will be kept up-to-date on what’s going on.

About Leland Meitzler

Leland K. Meitzler founded Heritage Quest in 1985, and has worked as Managing Editor of both Heritage Quest Magazine and The Genealogical Helper. He currently operates Family Roots Publishing Company (www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com), writes daily at GenealogyBlog.com, writes the weekly Genealogy Newsline, conducts the annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour to the Family History Library, and speaks nationally, having given over 2000 lectures since 1983.

33 Replies to “Don’t Expect the Genealogical Helper to Reemerge”

  1. Hi, Leland,

    I submitted an article to Everton’s back in Nov. 2008. I haven’t heard anything (now I see why) so do you think I am “free” to submit that same piece to another publication or should I wait until something is “official”?

    Thanks, Jean

  2. Hi, Leland,

    Does this have anything to do with http://www.worldvitalrecords.com? Are they operated by the same company? I notice my Everton’s subscription was noted on my World Vital Records account information. Should we worry about them?

    Thanks.

    Janice

  3. Oh, Leland, I am so sorry — for you, especially but also for all of us. Why not start a new magazine by yourself?
    There’s an idea.
    Bev

  4. Leland,

    I saw your response in the other notice you had given earlier and am really disappointed in the progress,but like you we all must move on and maybe we will enjoy a surprise sometime in the future.
    We miss you and Bill D and all the writers that always have been so helpful and energetic in providing us with such good material.

    Herb…

    I noticed in my last Internet Genealogy, there wasn’t one outside ad in the whole magazine. maybe another story there, eh!

  5. Leland,

    I was one of the authors hoping to break in to the “big time” by publishing with Everton’s. I am sorry to hear this fine journal may be going away.

    If you jump back into the magazine publishing field, I will look forward to it.

    Mike

  6. Sorry to hear the grand old magazine will be laid to rest. It was cherished by all of us in the field, decades ago, and was “the” magazine to read. So many people don’t understand the cost of publishing a “tome” like this. Many of the older copies were almost like books.

    Have you considered allowing Google to scan it and allowing it to be available globally for everyone? They could handle the costs of scanning and you could designate the book as a “full text” in availablity. I guess it wouldn’t earn you any money, but it would continue the legacy at no cost to yourself.

  7. Noel,
    Thanks for the kind comments. Google has scanned the magazines at the University of Wisconsin (Madison), and Google searches brings up phrases from the magazine, referencing specific volume numbers, but entire pages do not come up, as it’s under copyright. Keep in mind that I was just the editor for 3 years – and have no ownership in the publication. I do have permission to use a select group of articles on my blog if I choose to, but that’s it. I doubt you’ll see entire magazines free at Google, as World Vital Records have the current online distribution rights.

  8. Very sorry to hear that this magazine has ceased – I looked forward to receiving it. Any chance people with time left on their subscription will be reimbursed for issues not published?

  9. This is just Leland talking now. Remember, I don’t work for the company. However, they couldn’t pay me for the last work I did for them. I have reason to believe there is no money… The bank made sure of that. Subscribers may have their subscriptions fulfilled by others, but I think that’s about it. Sorry for my pessimistic attitude, but that’s how I see it.

  10. Maybe if the magazine would have taken care of there clients that would have made a HUGE difference. I will admit the helper was a GREAT GREAT tool. If they had only taken care of the clients. I noticed above that a 50 years mag was put out for Jan,Feb,Mar, Where is mine since I have NOT received it in the mail and we all know it is not on the site. Such a GREAT magazine but idiots running it. What a Shame.

  11. Dear Mr. Meitzler,
    I had loved the Genealogical Helper because of its lack of advertizing and more of just the meat and bones aspect. My husband bought me a two year subscription for the holiday last. I would love to see someone step up to the plate and fulfill the balance of our subscriptions.
    Always,
    Debbie F.

  12. Mr. Meitzler,

    Came across your blog via Dick Eastman. Good luck in your future endeavors. from personal experience, I know that unemployment is worse than the money lost for 2 year subscription I may never receive.

    Keith
    Indianapolis

  13. I am so sorry to hear this. I wasn’t real confident that the Helper would return, but I had hoped it would – along with a lot of other people. Many happy hours have been spent reading and rereading the Helper, and I don’t see anything on the horizon like it coming along again. Meanwhile, I love reading this blog and seeing what’s new in genealogy. The best to you and your future endeavors, Leland!

  14. I have quite a collection of “Helpers” that go back to the late 1970’s. I have to clean out and “downsize”. Is there any place or anyone, that might be interested in these old, but awesome genealogy magazines? I hate to just throw them in the recycle bin. If anyone has any ideas for me, please email me at: patkb@ix.netcom.com

  15. As of today, I’ve totally given up on anything good coming out of the Everton situation. I’m told that the company that was negotiating to fulfill the subscriptions has backed out, mainly due to the potential liability that would go with taking them over, and the inability of Everton’s to refund anyone that didn’t want to be switched over.

    I’ve been asked by various subscribers what I recommend they do. I don’t see the options as many, as I think the company is heading for a bankruptcy. However, I’ve been told that some people are getting some response by emailing Bobbie Corray at: cs1@everton.com . Bobbie has been trying to wrap the Everton, but her options have been very limited.

    Also keep in mind that if subscribers used a credit card to make their purchase a subscription, their credit card company might be able to help them.

    For my part, I’ve moved on… I really enjoyed editing “The Helper.” But it’s gone and I’m now running Family Roots Publishing & the Salt Lake Christmas Tour full time.

    Just to be clear – I had no ownership or management position with Everton Publishers during the entire tenure that I was with the company (2006-2009). I was an employee, hired to edit their magazine, working about 80 miles away from the Everton offices – which are in Logan, Utah.

  16. Dear LKM,

    “The Helper” took a decided step up when you took over. I am sorry to see it go, not just for personal reasons, but also because it leaves a huge vacancy in the genealogy field. I do not know where people will go for help and connections now that the magazine is Kaput. Except, of course, this blog.

    The ability to find connections is extremely important in the genealogy discipline. Rootsweb has helped in a very specific way, but the more prosaic method such as the article about German names are also very important.

    Tom

  17. Dear Leland:

    First and foremost, I was wondering what happened and now I know. I want you to know that I really believe you helped the Journal and actually saved it to see a few more years. I know I enjoyed reading your comments.

    I wish you the best and hope to someday met you and thank you in person for all you did.

    I also appreciate all the information you have posted on the future of the Journal.

    Please keep up all your great work.

    Joel

  18. Is there anywhere one can give old copies of Gen Helpher away? I have almonst 30 years of magazines and can no longer store them but do not like the idea of just tossing them into the recycle bin. I miss the magazine from its hayday. Always looked forward to receivng it even though rarely found any information that I could use in my famly searches.

    Thanks

    Steve

  19. Hello Steve,

    Please contact me about your old copies of the Helper: serials@sos.wa.gov
    The Washington State Library is interested in them if you are willing to donate them to us.

    Thanks!
    Leslie

  20. Well this solves the mystery — it was a long and difficult fall and I didn’t realize until recently that I hadn’t been receiving the magazine and found that the website was gone and the phone # was non-functional. I will note that EGH was VERY willing to take my subscription $$ in 2009…..

  21. Leland and Patty, so sorry you are out of work again, thru no fault of your own as you have done a terrific job of anything you undertook.

    I am hoping you will write more and more about researching in Germany, especially about finding relative descendants there of those in the family that didn’t emigrate back in the 1870s. Can you get that one German specialist you had in your magazine to help?

    And Bill Dollarhide can’t be beat as a writer. Anything he writes is very understandable and helpful.

    Hope to hear much more from all of you in one way or another.

  22. I am asking how to find information that was published by Genealogical Helsper in 1991 about the Bartee News. Can any one tell me where to find this information?

  23. Who can help with some research form some relatives who moved to London in the 1800ths
    I found some Reinewald people lived there and a Hortense Reinewald (born in Paris, oct. 1842), she go married in London Strand in 1868. With whom, are there still living descendants in England from them?
    Also a Albert Reinewald, Albert Merchant Reinewald and a R.Reinewald where mentioned in the phonebooks of London 1902-1903

    Hope that someone can help me to find more about these relatives of mine, it would be so great!!!

    Efa Reinewald

  24. Who can help with some research form some relatives who moved to London in the 1800ths
    I found some Reinewald people lived there and a Hortense Reinewald (born in Paris, oct. 1842), she go married in London Strand in 1868. With whom, are there still living descendants in England from them?
    Also a Albert Reinewald, Albert Merchant Reinewald and a R.Reinewald where mentioned in the phonebooks of London 1902-1903

    Hope that someone can help me to find more about these relatives of mine, it would be so great!!!

    Efa Reinewald

  25. So sad. Just got back into genealogy after a long time away and I discover Everton is gone.
    RIP. I hope some day I’ll find a collection of them. Everton ads helped me find several of
    my families.

  26. Hello. I am looking for a copy of Everton’s genealogical helper. I need Volume 4 so that I can search for the family called Russell. Russell was my grandmother’s maiden name. Is there any place I can get a copy of that particular volume and at what cost thank you

  27. Linda,

    I have magazines here, but they are all from my period as editor at the Helper – that was from 2006 until 2009 when they “went away.” Anything volume 4 would be 1940s or early 50s. Anyone placing ads then would be long-dead most likely.

  28. Leland, if this forum is still alive, I’d like to know if there is any possibility for Evertons. I wrote columns, published ads, created product and was asked to consider editing Sissom’ magazine. Of course, all long ago, yet I’m interested in what it might take.

    Daniel Hay (danielhay@gmail.com)

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