March Webinars on Legacy

The month begins with a session on South Australia land records: I am not aware of anyone in our group researching there. Visit www.familytreewebinars.com to register for any of the upcoming offerings. You can view all presentations without charge for one week following the original presentation.

Wednesday, March 4 - "3 Genealogy DNA Case Studies and How I Solved Them" by Roberta Estes. Intermediate, Advanced

Tuesday, March 10 - "Mining the Newspaper Databases on MyHeritage for Your Family History" by Janice M. Sellers.   Beginner   (Remember, MyHeritage is a subscription site.)

Wednesday, March 11 - "LucidChart and Other Tools for Genetic Genealogy" by Blaine Bettinger.  Intermediate, Advanced

Wednesday, March 18 - "Top 5 resources to expand your Spanish genealogical research" by Daniel Smith-Ramos.  Beginner

Tuesday, March 24 - "City Directories: Much More than Ye Olde Phonebooks" by Mike Mansfield.  Beginner, Intermediate

Wednesday, March 25 - "Using Fold3.com to your advantage" by Craig R. Scott.  Intermediate  (Fold3 is a subscription site.)

Tuesday, March 31 - "‘Stop Thief!’: British Crimes and Punishment" by Carol Baxter.  Intermediate

Annual Door Prizes

Tuesday was our annual door prize evening. There were several books and other items donated by club members. Thanks to Deenie, Carolyn, Maureen, Dick & Annie for those donations.

Sign up for any item you hope to win

The lucky winners:

Tracing Your Irish and British Roots--Mary Anne

The Great Halifax Explosion--Martha

The Genealogist's Google Toolbox--Ross

Mayflower--Sandy

FamilyTreeMaker CD and User Guide--Deenie

Pedigree Wall Chart--Ann

Genealogy Club: February 25

Our topic this week concentrated on locating and using online newspaper sites. Annie told us about their successful research project last summer in Madison at the Wisconsin State Historical Society. They were able to find a selection of obituaries to add to their family tree using the resources and microfilm at the library.

Reading room in Madison

Two of the online newspaper sites are subscription based: Newspapers.com and GenealogyBank.com. Each has different claims to fame so research them if you're considering a subscription.

February 25 presentation

There were examples of articles from each newspaper website. Annie suggested using all of them to adequately search for your surnames. The most comprehensive site, however, seems to be The Ancestor Hunt, which has links to many of the newspapers included in the other websites. 

The local public library where your ancestors lived is a good place to start if you can. Otherwise, use state archives and free newspaper sites before turning to the subscription choices.

Another good crowd attended this week's meeting

History for Genealogists

Maureen found this resource while preparing the Time Lines presentation. History for Genealogists was written by Judy Jacobson and has a 2016 addendum.The subtitle says it all: "Using Chronological Time Lines to Find Your Ancestors." The third chapter is called "Why Did They Leave" and includes lists of military actions, epidemics, political unrest, natural disasters, etc. that might explain a migration.

Another chapter talks about the various migration routes through America, and the final chapter gives an historical timeline for each state.

Thanks for sharing the book, Maureen!

Field Trip 2

We made a second successful visit to the local Family History Center. The group size meant that we could use the computers the entire time. As usual with research, everyone found at least a few bits and pieces to add to their family information.

It is always good to have a reminder that not everything is available online!

February 18 Workshop

Maureen explained how creating timelines will assist in our genealogy research. She mentioned the two types of timelines: personal and historic.


Timelines are valuable for finding gaps or errors in our research, identifying new research topics, telling a story, and comparing two people.

Our club has a folder with articles containing more information on timelines, which members will find useful, and there are many articles and books on the topic.

Thanks, Maureen, for an enlightening presentation!

Members who now know more about timelines

FindMyPast Discount

According to Dick Eastman's Newsletter, FindMyPast is offering a 40% discount on a year's subscription to either their Essential British and Irish option or their Ultimate British and Irish option.

The discount is available to all new or returning customers until midnight February 23.

Field Trip Report

Four of us visited the Family History Center Wednesday morning, which meant we could spend the whole time on their computers! We would call this a successful trip.

Diane found an interesting article about a mine disaster in Wales that might fit her family stories.

Mary Anne was able to locate Norwegian birth and marriage records that have been digitized but that she cannot view at home. She used Record Seek to add them to her family tree and also took photos of the records. Now she can attach them to a request for a complete translation from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Sandra located census records that advanced her pedigree chart and also found a marriage record that provided an ancestor's maiden name.

Annie spent time on FindMyPast searching for new records for her British ancestors.

Workshop: February 11

"I've Got My DNA Results: What Do They Mean and What Can I Do With Them?" Those were the questions that Diane addressed this past week. 

Diane

She began with some basic terminology, mentioned the different DNA companies, and showed us how to navigate Ancestry's results summary.

Diane also touched on GedMatch, ThruLines and DNA Painter. She suggested joining a FaceBook group that matches your ancestral area.

Check out "The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy" by Blaine Bettinger for further information. This book is in our club library.

Thanks, Diane, for an enlightening presentation!

Learning more about DNA

Record Seek

The research help that Laurie recommended to us is called Record Seek. All you have to do is Google it, of course. Then follow Laurie's instructions below.


"Once you find it and open the site there is a blue box at the bottom of the page, all you do is click and hold it and drag it to your task bar, there is no download if you do it that way. (Drag to the upper task bar.)
There is a great video on UTube that shows how to use it. When you are on Ancestry and find a source you want to save just click on Record Seek and it will take the source and give you the option of Family Search or where you want to save the source.
You can just enter the person's ID number, rather than having type all their info in, and it will take you directly to that person and give you the options of saving to them."


Good luck and have fun! Bring any questions to a meeting. Thanks, Laurie!

Historical Maps for Ireland

Trish sent a follow-up to her recent presentation for those members who were interested in the historical maps for Ireland. She included the following explanation of how to use the site.


Here is a link to a great website for historical maps for Ireland.    In the first paragraph is a hyperlink “Click here to view the entire archive of historic maps”   You must “accept” their map viewer because there are 3 levels of maps superimposed. Choose the colored historic 6” map, and as you “drill” down to the area of interest more detail appears. The townlands become visible outlined in red and the townland details appear when you click on it.  I simply use my snip-it tool rather than purchase maps.


https://www.osi.ie/products/professional-mapping/historical-mapping/

Genealogy Club: February 4

Trish Kelly gave us a fascinating travelogue/research presentation. She and her husband visited Ireland and Scotland in 2017 and 2018 as tourists and researchers. She provided maps, wonderful photos--even a video of a broom dance at a family reunion in Ireland.

Trish Kelly

They visited libraries and archives, cemeteries, local heritage centers, and ancestral estates and homelands.

One of the estates

Trish explained the process involved in accessing library materials for family research and strongly suggested that everyone should always visit any local heritage centers that are available.

Good turnout!

Trish also provided advice about preparations for a similar trip. Thank you, Trish!

February Fun

Interesting stuff planned for the coming month!

February 4: Trish Kelly is coming to talk about traveling to Ireland and Scotland--visiting libraries, archives, cemeteries, etc. along the way.

February 11: Diane Jalbert will give us a brief overview of what's going on with DNA research followed by questions.

February 12: Field Trip #1 to the Family History Center

February 15: Vista Grande Genealogy Talk: African American Genealogy

February 18: Melanie Sturgeon's class this year is about land records and maps.

February 19: Field Trip #2 to the Family History Center

February 25: Maureen Edwards will show us how to use timelines to help in genealogy research.