Webinar Updates

We will be away from the computer for the next 10 days or so; however I do plan to continue to post items on the blog throughout the summer. There is quite a variety of subject matter available in the next three Legacy webinars.


Wednesday, April 30: "Google Glass and Family History"

Devin Ashby will talk about some potential spaces for app development such as cemeteries, photos, etc.


Friday, May 2: "Legacy Family Tree Virtual User's Group Meeting"

Tips, tricks and best practices for using Legacy software will be presented by the Legacy staff.


Wednesday, May 7:  "50 Year View--What I've Learned Climbing My Family Tree"

Tom Kemp will discuss tips and techniques that he has learned over a lifetime of research.


You can find more information or register to watch at www.familytreewebinars.com. Remember, you can also watch these webinars free for about a week after the live presentations.

Family Tree Magazine

Our copy of the May/June issue arrived last week and I thought I'd mention some of the articles. One describes the workspaces of six professional genealogists and gives ideas for organizing them. Another article discusses strategies for analyzing and solving your brick walls. Websites for European research might be of interest to many of us; this issue lists 57 of them.

In several past issues there has been a "workbook" for various search methods; birth records are taught this month. Another article lists sources for identifying your ancestor's German village. If you suspect an ancestor ended in the poorhouse or an orphanage, another article suggests places to look for those records. Family Tree Magazine usually presents a tutorial on an area of research; you can learn how to search the 1901 and 1911 Irish censuses online.

Something for everyone! If you are not a subscriber, you can find the magazine in a large bookstore. Or, try your public library; many subscribe to genealogy magazines.

April 23 Legacy Webinar

If any of your ancestors traveled west of the Mississippi to settle, this week's webinar will be of interest. Thomas MacEntee will be talking about the Homestead Act on Wednesday, April 23. The class is suggested for both beginning and intermediate researchers. Find out more and register to watch in "real time" at www.familytreewebinars.com. Legacy's description of the presentation follows.


The Homestead Act of 1862

"In this session you’ll learn how The Homestead Act of 1862 lured citizens of the United States to procure federal lands West of the Mississippi River. The application and qualification process, as burdensome as it was for our ancestors, produced a bumper crop of documents for use by genealogists and family historians."

Success with Passenger List

Recently Joanne Powles wrote of finding her grandfather's brother arriving in the United States on a ship that left Hamburg in 1886. This was three years after her grandfather came with his mother. The family story had always been that the two brothers came to America together, so Joanne had concentrated on the year 1883.

One of the suggestions this year was to be somewhat skeptical about those family legends--sometimes they are only partially true!

Civil War Records on Fold3

 

Fold3 is offering free access to its Civil War records through the end of April. More information is at www.fold3.com.  Fold3 is a subscription site that contains mainly military records.


Here's a clip from the site:

"Fold3 has worked with the US National Archives to bring millions of original records to the Internet for the first time. Explore Civil War records that feature everything from personal accounts to historic writings that would shape a nation."


Their website lists the following types of records that are available.

• Soldier Records
• Photographs
• Original War Maps
• Widows Pension files
• Court Investigations
• Slave Records
• Lincoln Records

 

April 16 Legacy Webinar

The webinar from Legacy this week is recommended for intermediate or experienced researchers. Karen Clifford will be talking about analyzing records and online family trees in order to determine whether a person mentioned is one of your ancestors.


The paragraph below describes this presentation. You can find more information and register to watch at www.familytreewebinars.com


Genealogy Evidence and Online Family Trees
 

"A person's identity is established through evidence. Usually that evidence comes from multiple record groups which when studied together either forges stronger links between family members, or weakens links (and confusion reigns.) Sometimes there are records about the same person which disagree. Become familiar with available tools from online family trees that can help to logically build the evidence to strengthen a claim to a specific ancestor."

Success Story at Salt Lake City

Ann Snyder sent a report of an extremely productive visit at the Family History Library. She was aware that the Italian records she needed were online, but translating the paragraphs of birth records was impossible. She had called prior to their visit and the Italian expert on the international floor was able to help. Now she has birth records of her mother, aunt, and both sets of grandparents!

Ann also sent a photo of herself, hubby Dick and her new-found translator friend. He has supplied his email address so that Ann can send any other records she locates for him to translate. Another reason why we suggest that Salt Lake City should be on the way to everywhere!

It would be great if other club members contacted Dick or myself with stories of similar successes. I'd be happy to post them on our blog.

Legacy Webinars

Legacy is producing two webinars this week. More information and registration can be found at www.familytreewebinars.com.

On Wednesday April 9, Mary Hill will present the topic "Get Organized Using the FamilyRoots Organizer Color-Coding System." This class is suggested for beginning and intermediate researchers.

Her system looks as if it is similar to the ideas that Carol Brown presented at the Pinal County workshop in January. The description of the class follows:


"For on-going research success, a person must have a simple system to organize genealogy records. FamilyRoots Organizer is a proven system - easy to understand, simple to set up, and simple to use. Based on four colors for your four grandparent lines, coordinate your paper files with your Legacy database as you build your family tree."



On Friday April 11, Linda Geiger is the speaker, and her topic is "Estate Records - More Than Just Wills." Linda has geared this presentation toward intermediate researchers. The description:

              

"This session will introduce a large variety of documents that may be located within the Estate files of individuals dying with or without a will. The records may provide researchers with direct or indirect evidence of heirs of the deceased, descriptions of property (both real and personal), occupation, literacy, and other interesting tidbits."

Another Lesson Learned

One of our members related a story that should remind all of us to check carefully before requesting film from Family Search. She ordered a film (after finding a record on Family Search) by looking up the film number listed on the record. This was a great idea: there might be other family members on that same film. The film arrived; she spent several hours reading and photographing records on the film. As she was leaving the Family History Center, one of the volunteers asked whether she knew that film was available online! And it was...And it is easier to read and copy records from the computer than the microfilm.


When you look for a film in the catalog, be sure to scroll the entire page. If the film is available online, that will be indicated in red. Clicking there will take you directly to the online database, generally Family Search. If the database is somewhere else, the link will appear in blue.

April 4 Legacy Webinar

Thomas MacEntee will present this week's Legacy webinar. It's listed as appropriate for beginner and intermediate researchers.


"7 Habits of Highly Frugal Genealogists

Learn how savvy genealogists are finding success with 7 basic habits of frugality. You’ll not only find a list of key resources but more importantly you’ll learn how to embrace the “mind set” of finding the best ways to save money while researching your ancestors."


Register to watch in real time at www.familytreewebinars.com