This past week we heard a review of basic DNA concepts from Diane. She talked about the types of DNA tests, recommended using Ancestry and uploading results to other sites. She showed us the locations and matches from her family on Ancestry.
Diane demonstrated tools that can be used on Ancestry, My Heritage and DNA Painter. Thanks for another educational presentation, Diane!
This past week we celebrated St. Patrick's Day by listening to a presentation on Irish Genealogy. Dennis covered some early Irish history and explained that the county and townland were the two most important geographical locations to know. And there are some 50,000 townlands!
The Poor Law Unions, Tithe Applotment Books and Griffith's Valuation will also be helpful resources.
During the Great Famine (1845=1852) Ireland lost 25% of its population due to death or emigration.
Dennis included some photos of a recent trip to his townland, as well as maps of the area.
If you missed this presentation, the handout included a long list of helpful websites.
Thanks, Dennis, for increasing our knowledge of research in Ireland.
Several members met at the local Family Search Center last week to use their subscription sites and collaborate with personal research. We had two or three breakthroughs during the morning. And a few of us learned that Fold3 is not particularly user-friendly! On the whole it was a successful visit.
It was great to have Pam Ingermanson back this week for another class about Family Search. She gave us a great overview on the home page before moving on to the tree.
Don't forget to try the AI suggestions on the home page which will help you to add information to some of your ancestors.
Pam explained the items on the tool bar on a person's Detail page and showed us how to contact someone who is adding information to our ancestors' story. We looked at the variations on a person's pedigree and the area where new information is listed.
We also reviewed how to add Memories to each person's page.
Finally, we used the Family Tree App on our phones to learn who in the room was related!
Thanks, Pam, for an interesting presentation.
The final February workshop concentrated on websites. We looked first at PhotoTree.com where you can learn about the types of early photographs and get some help deciding when your ancestors' photos were taken.
How to use Ancestry to locate photographers in the 1870-80 and 1900 censuses was explained, as well as a few links to learning more about those early photographers.
Annie also suggested taking a look at VintageAerial.com for photos of farms taken all over the country mainly during the 1970s.
We viewed a second group of websites to help in locating passenger lists. Ellis Island has updated its holdings and we can now access arrivals from the 1850s. Steve Morse's one-page websites can be helpful as well as another called German Roots.
As always, the FamilySearch Wiki page is a great help for any subject matter.
Here are all the opportunities for adding to your knowledge in March.
March 3: FamilySearch Night
March 5-7 RootsTech2026
March 10: Family Tree Maker Features
March 12: Field Trip -- Family Search Center
March 17: Land Records in Ireland
March 21: Arizona Genealogy Day
March 24: DNA Revisited
March 31: Summer Sendoff
Last week Diane presented ideas for preserving and cataloging photographs. She provided several examples to help in deciding whether to keep or discard family photos. There were also techniques we could use to identify when photos might have been taken.
Diane included a handout for photo inventory and analysis that will be extremely helpful for making decisions about your family pictures.
Thanks, Diane, for that educational presentation!
