FindMyPast Discount

Here's the announcement from FindMyPast this week:

"With more than twice the Irish records of our nearest competitor and exclusive British records you won’t find elsewhere, it’s easier to discover your British and Irish ancestry with us than any other family history website. To celebrate St. Patrick's Day we are offering you a 50% discount on a 1-month Ultimate British & Irish subscription. Hurry - offer ends midnight 19 March."

Here's more:

"*This offer expires at 11:59pm on 19 March 2018. The discount can only be used once per customer and can only be redeemed using a valid credit/debit card. After the discounted 30-day period, your subscription will automatically renew at full price unless you un-tick ‘Auto-renew my subscription’ under ‘Personal details’ when logged into the site. T&Cs apply."


I did see a second ad this morning that said the offer was good through March 18, so keep that date in mind. Notice it covers British and Irish records. They have expanded to include many records from the United States, and I don't know if those databases are part of this offering.

www.findmypast.com

March 6 Genealogy Club

Maureen's presentation, "Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words?" took us through the process of identifying a group of photographs that she rescued from Mike's sister. Although not all of the photos were labeled, she was able to use the photographer's name and location along with a few names to determine who many of the people were. The topic continued her story of Mike's grandmother, who was one of the British Home Children sent to Canada from England in the late 1800s.

It was interesting that Maureen was also able to use a Google Photo process to decide whether some of the photos matched those she had already been able to identify. I'm sure several of our members are planning to try the same technique.

Thanks, Maureen!

March Legacy Webinars

Topics this month are heavy on DNA and brick walls. Visit www.familytreewebinars.com to register or learn more information about these free webinars.

Wednesday, March 7 - "Overcoming Brick Walls Caused by Record Loss" by Mary Hill.  Intermediate

Friday, March 9 - "Secrets in the Attic: Break Down Brick Walls With Home Sources" by Denise May Levenick.  Beginner

Tuesday, March 13 - "True Stories of Families Reunited Thanks to Genetic Genealogy" by MyHeritage Webinars.  Beginner

Wednesday, March 14 - "The Case of the Broken Link - Decoding the URL" by Cyndi Ingle.  Intermediate

Tuesday, March 20 - "From Baltimore to Burlington: Hazen P. Day's Neighbors Bring Him Home" by Catherine B. Wiest Desmarais.  Intermediate, Advanced

Wednesday, March 21 - "Hands-On with MyHeritage DNA" by Geoff Rasmussen and Yoav Naveh.  Intermediate

Friday, March 23 - "Introduction to DNA Testing in Genealogy and Family History" by Mike Mansfield.  Beginner, Intermediate

Tuesday, March 27 - "How DNA Testing Can Reveal Your Ethnic Roots" by MyHeritage Webinars.  Beginner

Wednesday, March 28 - "Formulating a DNA Testing Plan" by Blaine Bettinger.  Beginner

February 27 Workshop

Bob had volunteered to present a friend's "interesting" pedigree, so I've been trying to guess the mystery since we talked about it earlier this year. My two guesses were a famous relative or an early immigrant. Who knew it would be both! Not only did the pedigree include Erle Stanley Gardner and Samuel Morse, two lines traced back to the Mayflower. It certainly lived up to the billing.

This week was "freebie" week, and there weren't too many items left after attendees chose what they wanted to take home with them. If there is anyone who wanted a list of German websites provided by Steve Packer, we still have a few copies. The handout from the January workshop about comparing genealogy software programs was also included; let me know if you're still making a decision about a purchase and would like a copy.

February 20 Genealogy Club

We had an excellent turnout for our German flavored week. Steve Packer gave his usual informative talk--this time all about research in Germany. Besides some German history and tips about naming patterns, German genealogical terms and immigration information, he included several new websites that would be useful in chasing your German ancestors.

Steve Packer

Our private cookie baker outdid herself. Louise Kant is a former member of our club, and she is still willing to bake cookies once a year for us. We were treated with German chocolate bar cookies, German town cookies, German husarenkrapfen, German cheese cookies, butterkuchen and springerle. All were delicious!

Congratulations also to our door prize winners: Mary McCann, Bob O'Donnell, Whitey Hoehn, Carol Lundholm, Maureen Edwards and Nancy Archibald.

February 13 Workshop

The mini topic involved working in the Family Tree area of FamilySearch. Dick showed how to add memories to an ancestor's page, although there were issues with the internet feed. (When he opened the website later that evening, the photo was in his "gallery" where he could then move it to the correct page.) He also discussed how to add the source hints to the ancestor's person page.

There was time for questions and a chance to practice the techniques. Maureen also spent time with Legacy users to show them how to work between their software and FamilySearch.

News Items

Ancestry has put its DNA kit on sale again this month. It is marked down to $69, and the price is good through February 25.


MyHeritage is providing free access to its marriage records in honor of Valentine's Day. Access is free through tomorrow, February 15, at midnight Central time.

February 7 Field Trip

We took another group to the Family History Center this past week. It seemed as if no one looked away from their computers for three hours! Another goal accomplished: everyone found something new.

And thanks to Carolyn, Maureen, Nancy, Annie and Wendell (from the history center) for assisting the researchers.