March 26 Workshop

This week Annie provided some suggestions for using spare time during the coming months. They included finishing census work, devising a research plan, reviewing your research notes, using FamilySearch and making use of the information given during the past season's classes.

She also listed some internet websites to explore. ArchivGrid, Linkpendium, Internet Archive and ROAGK. 

Each spring FamilySearch seems to give us some new options for research. They recently added "Cemeteries" under the search tab. This is a collection of cemeteries entered in the Family Tree. You can search by cemetery name or by location.

FamilySearch Labs is creating some interesting new options. Full Text Searching gives us the ability to access (at present) land and probate records that cannot be indexed. They have incorporated handwriting recognition and there is a translation of the original document.

Another option is Family Group Trees where members of your family can view your living tree. This feature is not quite ready for full use yet. You can also try AI-assisted searches.

March 19 Workshop

This past week we traveled with Diane through Scotland and England, as she followed the trail of her ancestors. In Edinburgh she was able to walk the streets of the Currie/Colington area where her great grandfather lived and visit the area near the Juniper Green quarry explosion that greatly affected his family. 

Edinburgh Castle, Culloden Battlefield, Stonehenge and the Isle of Skye were some of the other locations that Diane and her husband were able to visit. Diane reported that Gretna Green is still a "wedding" site that British folks use.

Another highlight of their trip was a visit to the family in the Bristol area where another of Diane's family lines originated.

Thanks, Diane, for sharing a memorable visit to Scotland and England, as well as those tips for planning a genealogy/tourism vacation.

FamilySearch Center

The local FamilySearch Center has changed its hours. They are no longer open Wednesday evenings. Here are the current opening times:

Wednesday - 4 PM

Thursday - 9 AM

Saturday - 9 AM

Artificial Intelligence and Genealogy

This past week Maureen and Mike Salter provided a comprehensive discussion of AI and genealogy. Mike began with an explanation of the history of AI and some of the concerns about it, such as privacy, lack of transparency, bias and false information, as well as  copyright issues.

Maureen suggested that we may not have realized that AI has already been used for photo enhancement, transcriptions, record suggestions and DNA matches. She stressed that we should continue to use source citations for information found through AI. Other genealogical benefits include research efficiency, block chaining, translation/transcription and timelines and mapping.

AI platforms can be used for social history queries, record sets, transcriptions, and possible relationship clarifications. Some of the platforms mentioned included Bard, ChatGPT and Perplexity.

If you were unable to attend this meeting, their excellent handout will be available in the future. Thanks, Maureen and Mike! 

Ancestral Mathematics

 Don recently shared this reminder about the number of grandparents we have. Thanks, Don!

The Immigrant Journey

Last Tuesday Maureen provided a comprehensive picture of our ancestors' immigration journey, including some of the reasons they left their homeland as well as improvements in life style they hoped to find in the "new world." She covered travel to various ports of departure and conditions at those ports. 

Earliest immigrants traveled via sailing vessels taking months to cross the Atlantic. The first steamships came into use during the 1830s, and by 1880 they were the only method of travel, taking 7-15 days. Our ancestors endured hardships such as seasickness, poor sanitation, inadequate food and ventilation and homesickness during the voyage. Cholera and typhus also affected our ancestors. Maureen included photographs depicting the harsh conditions on the ships.

Many immigrants traveled to Canada, as those voyages were less expensive. In fact, any port besides New York was cheaper. 

Thanks, Maureen, for a sobering view of the travels of our brave ancestors!

RootsTech Report

I hope everyone enjoyed at least a part of the RootsTech 2024 weekend. Don't forget that the online offerings will be available to all for several years. Each class I attended taught me something new!

Fixing Sticky Problems in FamilySearch Family Tree: It seems that many of the ongoing problems in the Tree have been caused by "bad" merges. Just another reason to be very careful when contemplating any merge.

Tracing Individuals with Similar Names: One of my favorite speakers, D. Joshua Taylor, gave this talk. There were several suggestions that might be helpful.

Genealogy A to Z: A genealogy term, suggestion, idea, etc. for each letter of the alphabet.

Did My Family Get Skipped in the Census?: The speaker went through the process she used to locate a family that "had" to be there but was not found originally.

Tackling a New Research Location: Can you guess that one of the first suggestions was the FamilySearch Wiki?

Brick Walls! Real?: There were many suggestions for analyzing your own research process just in case you are causing your own brick walls.

Introduction to Scandinavian Church Records: Jenny Hansen is the best speaker I've heard on Scandinavian research. If you have ancestors from Norway, Sweden or Denmark, be sure to listen to her presentation.

March Meetings

We will finish the season with a variety of topics, and there is one more class scheduled at Vista Grande Library.

March 6: Maureen E. will be telling us about the conditions our ancestors encountered during their voyages to North America. 

March 13: Maureen S. (and Mike) will present their research into how AI may be affecting genealogy in the future.

March 20: Diane is going to share experiences from her recent travels to Scotland and England.

March 27: Annie will wind up the season with some suggestions for continued research.

March 12: Vista Grande Library's topic is census research.

February 27 Workshop

During our workshop this week we virtually visited Sicily through Ann Snyder's photographs. Ann was a club member a few years ago and worked very hard researching her Sicilian roots. It was wonderful to see that she was able to visit the churches where her mother and grandparents were baptized and to see the home where her mother was raised. Thanks to Dave and Ann for making this possible.

Annie demonstrated two "problems" we might encounter while working on the FamilySearch Family Tree. We looked at an example of two wives, one of whom was posted incorrectly: right name, wrong location. We also followed a merge process--where we all need practice to be sure we're making the right decisions. 

The rest of the workshop was a roundtable where members were able to share a recent discovery or a current project. I'm providing a selection from each contribution.

Maureen: continuing to use DNA to try to solve her Frederick problem.

Deb: has acquired 20 new names.

Cindy: found her "real" grandfather this year.

Nancy: moving records from Legacy to FamilySearch; a reunion is coming up this year.

Dave: finding mistakes in the Tree and getting legitimate sources.

Dennis: will be taking an Irish land records course through American Ancestors.

Beth: helping family members with the Tree; planning a trip to Wales, Ireland & Scotland.

Roger: still pursuing the disappearance of g. grandparents in Texas.

Jan: her g. grandparents are her brick wall.

Lynn: "all her boxes are at home" but searching for two grandfathers raised by others.

Skip: paternal grandfather changing surname; discovered double second cousins.

Bonni: found g. grandfather in Scotland census; Googles location of census houses.

Dick: working on the Record Hints in the Tree.

Annie: located her grandmother's brother's marriage in 1917 in Poland.

Roundtable participants