FamilySearch Webinars

The FamilySearch Library has published its list of September webinars. I have included below the selections for only the first couple of weeks in the month. If you have been frustrated while working on the Family Tree, two might be particularly helpful. All of the webinars are available for viewing after their first presentation. Access the link below for dates and times. 

Skimming the Surface: A Look into Quebec Notarial Records (Beginner)

Merging Duplicate Records in FamilySearch Family Tree (Beginner)

Using the FamilySearch Catalog (Beginner)

Never to be Forgotten: Suggestions for Writing Family Stories (Beginner)

Correcting Relationships in FamilySearch Family Tree (Beginner)

Genealogy in Canada's Western Provinces (Beginner)

The entire list can be viewed at https://media.familysearch.org/free-family-history-classes-and-webinars-for-september-2021/.

Erik Larson

We've been traveling and reading, and once in a while choose a history. Erik Larson is a favorite author, and this summer we read his latest book about Churchill during the first year of World War II. 

Here are a few of his interesting selections.

Isaac's Storm   about the Galveston hurricane of 1900 focused on a weather predictor at the time. (Haven't read it, but it's on my list)

The Devil in the White City   1893 Chicago World's Fair & a serial killer operating there during that time  (really interesting info on the building of the fair) 

In the Garden of Beasts   Berlin in 1933-34 from the viewpoint of the American ambassador, I believe. 

Dead Wake   Last crossing of the Lusitania from the viewpoint of its captain and the submarine captain  (excellent)

The Splendid and the Vile   Churchill/London from May 1940-May 1941  (so much info and well-sourced)

Webtember!

Legacy is providing free webinars on Fridays during September. Here's the announcement:

Take your genealogy skills to the next level with this FREE online genealogy conference, held each Friday in September: 30 live and pre-recorded webinars in all. Join live for all four Fridays or just one, and if you can't, we've got you covered! Enjoy the recordings at your convenience — they'll be free to view through the end of the month.

Here's the link to register. 

https://familytreewebinars.com/intermediate_page.php?diply_nm=webtember

August Webinars on Legacy

Here is the list of the webinars available on Legacy this month. Visit familytreewebinars.com to register or learn more information about each selection. Note the interesting presentation about Ontario on Friday, August 20.

Tuesday, August 3 - "Burying the Body in England" by Helen V. Smith.  Intermediate

Friday, August 6 - "Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts" by Bernice Bennett.  Intermediate

Wednesday, August 11 - "Introduction to Researching Your Mississippi Ancestors" by Angela Walton-Raji.  Beginner, Intermediate

Tuesday, August 17 - "Standards for Genealogical Documentation" by Tom Jones.  Intermediate

Wednesday, August 18 - "Using Zotero to Organize and Annotate Your Family History Research" by Colleen Robledo Greene.  Intermediate

Friday, August 20 - "Early Ontario Research" by Janice Nickerson.  Intermediate, Advanced

Wednesday, August 25 - "Fire, Water, and the 1890 U.S. Census; Researching Beyond the Ashes and Mold" by Elizabeth Williams Gomoll.  Intermediate

Friday, August 27 - "10 Ways to Find Your Native American Ancestor Using Y, Mitochondrial and Autosomal DNA" by Roberta Estes

Online DNA School with Focus on Ireland

The following announcement was written by the North of Ireland Family History Society, and appeared recently in Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter.

This September sees the return of the popular DNA School run by the North of Ireland Family History Society and this time it is online. Previously it was held in-person at the society’s research library near Belfast and the society frequently got comments from people living overseas wishing they could attend. The society hopes that the new online DNA School will attract the Irish and Scots-Irish diaspora or indeed anyone wanting to make the most of the opportunities that DNA research allows. There is huge interest these days in using DNA to help with genealogy research and the aim of the school is to make the whole subject more understandable by helping attendees improve their skills and knowledge.

A spokesperson said that the society is very pleased that Jonny Perl, the developer behind the popular DNA Painter tool, will be a speaker this year. Jonny has family roots in Northern Ireland where the society is based so he is an ideal instructor.

Classes will last for around 90 minutes – usually a one-hour talk followed by a question and answer session. All four types of DNA will be covered (X, Y, mitochondrial and autosomal). Classes will provide practical advice to allow concepts to be understood and new skills to be learned. There will be a focus on making progress on DNA research within Ireland, however, classes are suitable for anyone using DNA research to trace their roots. There are two sessions each day, at 3pm and at 7pm BST, so 10am and 2pm ET for anyone wishing to “zoom” across the Atlantic.

The DNA School will be held from Monday 6th to Friday 10th September. The full class list is:

· Achieving Success with DNA

· Using DNA Painter

· Using X Matches in your DNA Research

· The Advantages of Y-DNA

· The Advantages of mtDNA

· The Leeds Method

· The DNA Family Matching Tool

· Stories from the Ballycarry and Islandmagee DNA Projects

· Using the Chromosome Browser Effectively

· Ethnicity Estimates

The classes are £10 each or all 10 classes can be booked together at a discounted rate of £80.

To book online and to find more details, please visit www.nifhs.org/courses

Unexpected Websites

A recent article from Family Tree Magazine suggested several websites that are not commonly used by researchers. Here are a few selections from their list for you to explore.

ArchiveGrid is a collection of over seven million archival material descriptions. You will have to take a look at their research section.

https://www.oclc.org/research/areas/research-collections/archivegrid.html

Digital Public Library of America: This online library has more than 11 million digitized items from libraries, archives and museums. 

https://dp.la/

HistoryPin is a UK-based site that boasts more than 400,000 member submissions of old photos, each plotted on Google Maps. You can search by location.

https://www.historypin.org/en/

RootsTech 2022

Here is a reminder to go back to RootsTech 2021. The sessions are still available for viewing. You have time to catch up before next year's offerings!

FamilySearch today announced that RootsTech Connect 2022 will take place on March 3–5, 2022, as a fully virtual family history event. After welcoming over one million visitors from over 240 countries to its 2021 online event, RootsTech Connect 2021 was the largest in the history of RootsTech, and spectacular proof of humanity’s interest globally in discovering our roots and connecting to each other. Building on its success, RootsTech Connect 2022 will remain completely virtual and free. Registration will open in September 2021.

Free Civil War Records

The following announcement comes from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter. Visit http://bit.ly/3hhIMNz to learn more.

In remembrance of the Battle of Gettysburg, Fold3 is offering free access to more than 100 million records from our Civil War Collection until July 18th.

So if you're looking for information on the Civil War veterans in your family tree, now is the time to explore service records, pension files, casualty lists and more.

*Access to the records in the featured collections will be free until 18 July 2021 at 11:59 p.m. MT. Registration required.