Welcome Home Party

 

Our table at the Welcome Home party was very successful; we hope that everyone who picked up one of our reminder cards will attend the next meeting.

 

 

 

 

Annie and Chris encouraging one of our residents to join the genealogy club.

Mocavo Fireside Chats

Mocavo has been offering "Fireside Chats" for their "Mocavo Plus" members, but according to the latest newsletter they will be opening these web chats to everyone. Here's the blurb from Mocavo:

"Over the last few months, we've received overwhelmingly positive feedback surrounding our Mocavo Gold Fireside Chat series. As we start the New Year, we want to thank you for your continued support of our Free Forever mission. Today, in appreciation, we are excited to offer our Fireside Chats to the entire genealogy community for free, forever!

Every other week Chief Genealogist Michael J. Leclerc interviews leading genealogists to discuss all aspects of family history. Tune in to get free advice and helpful research tips that will take your research to the next level. You will also have the opportunity to get your very own family history questions answered by these expert genealogists during the chat."

Several past "chats" are available for viewing on the website. The next scheduled presentation is January 15, 1:00 EST, when Michael will interview Thomas MacEntee from GeneaBloggers.com for the first Mocavo Fireside Chat of 2014. Thomas MacEntee is a genealogy professional specializing in the use of technology and social media to improve genealogy research.

Michael and Thomas will discuss what the future may hold for technology and genealogy as well as how to start your own genealogy blog.

It seems that these broadcasts are in conflict with the Legacy webinars, but both sites allow viewing following the presentations.

www.mocavo.com/fireside will take you to the chat site.

Field Trip Planned

The club has scheduled a visit to the local Family History Center. The center will be open for us on Friday, January 17, from 9-12 AM. We will be given a tour of the facility and have time for research on their computers or in their library. We need to limit the number of attendees; if there are enough people interested, we will schedule a second visit. The sign-up sheet will be available again at next week's workshop if you missed Tuesday's meeting.

Meeting Report

At our first meeting of 2014 Wendy Carlson, director of the local family history center, spoke to us about "What I Learned at the Genealogy School of Hard Knocks." A few of the main ideas she illustrated include:

*Write down what you know
*Trust but verify
*Spelling doesn't count (where have we heard that before!)
*Look for more than your direct line
*Keep an open mind
*Don't give up!

If you missed the meeting, the comprehensive handouts will be available at next week's workshop.

Legacy Webinar

Wednesday, January 8, Legacy will be presenting "Are You a GOON? What is a One-Name Study and Why Do One?" Kirsty Gray, the speaker, is a researcher from England who belongs to the "Guild of One-Name Studies."

Here is Legacy's description of this week's webinar:

"A one-name study is a project researching all occurrences of a surname, as opposed to a particular pedigree (ancestors of one person) or descendancy (descendants of one person or couple). Some 'one-namers' restrict their research geographically, perhaps to one country, but true one-namers collect all occurrences worldwide. A charitable organisation, the Guild of One-Name Studies (GOONS) is dedicated to promoting the public understanding of one-name studies and the preservation and accessibility of the resultant information. Kirsty will guide you through the 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom' - the Art of a One-Name Study."

Register for free at: www.familytreewebinars.com, and check on the exact time for your location. Or you can plan to watch during the 7-day period following the live presentation.

Genealogy Club Meeting

Tuesday, January 7: our first meeting of the season! Wendy Carlson, Director of the Casa Grande Family History Center, will be telling us about "What I Learned at the Genealogy School of Hard Knocks." She will also give us an overview of what's available at our local family history center, including the subscription websites on their computers. They also have an extensive library, and I'm sure we'll hear about that, too. 

If you're planning to pay dues this week, you are welcome to arrive a bit early for our 7 PM meeting. Dues are still only $5 per site per year. Best bargain in town...

Volunteer Opportunities

The genealogy club has two upcoming events. Saturday, January 11, we will have a table at the Welcome Home function where we talk about the club and solicit new members. Tuesday, January 14, is the next Craft Fair where we staff a table to sign up clients for our ancestor lookups (to raise funds for Cancer Awareness) and also to encourage membership.

If you have an hour to spare either of those two days, let us know at the Jan. 7 meeting, or call 6166. Thanks in advance!

Social Security Records Access

The budget bill that was signed into law last week provides for the partial closure of the Social Security Death Index. The law states that deaths cannot be reported on the SSDI until 3 years after their occurrence. The bloggers writing about this believe that current records on FamilySearch, Ancestry, etc. will still be available.

Do read Judy Russell's blog at www.legalgenealogist.com to find out details of the law and its consequences. The comments below her posting also add valuable information for anyone who has used the SSDI or who had plans to access that information in the future. Included in the comments is a link to another post explaining in detail the process for ordering social security information about your ancestors.