VGS News & Events: 29 October 2017 through 4 November 2017

October Monthly Meeting - A Live Webinar with Amy Johnson Crow

Coming Events:

Wednesday: November 1, 2017

French Canadian Genealogy SIG Meeting:

9:00 AM in the Julio Iglesias Room at the La Hacienda Recreation

Wednesday: November 1, 2017

Mid-Atlantic States SIG Meeting:

9:30 AM in the Defender Room at the Lake Miona Recreation Center

Note: Date Change for this meeting... 

Wednesday: November 1, 2017

RootsMagic SIG Meeting:

1:00 PM at the Pinellas Library

Thursday: November 2, 2017

Eastern European Genealogy SIG Meeting:

1:00 PM in the Daytona Room at the Sea Breeze Recreation Center

Friday: November 3, 2017

British Genealogy SIG Meeting:

9:30 AM in the Courageous Room at the Lake Miona Recreation Center
Topic: A special presentation by Mark Olsen from Family  Tree Maker.
Mark will talk about the latest version of the Family Tree Maker Software and there will be ample time for members to ask questions about the software features. Attendance is by reservation only since space is limited to the first 80 registrants. Register HERE...

Saturday, November 4

21st Annual Central Florida Family History Conference:
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
OLYMPIA HIGH SCHOOL at 4301 S. Apopka Vineland Road, Orlando, FL 32835
We are one of the largest family history conferences on the East Coast of the United States! This regional event brings world-class speakers from all over the country to help you find your family’s history! Our Keynote Speaker this year features Crista Cowan, Corporate Genealogist at Ancestry.com!!
More information: HERE...
Download: Info & Bus Info Flyer:

Latest News & Announcements:
The Citrus County Genealogical Society will meet November 14 at 10:00 AM at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3474 W. Southern St., Lecanto. Diahan Southard, nationally known DNA lecturer and owner of the website “Your DNA Guide” will give a live webinar about autosomal DNA tests, “Your Slice of the DNA Pie.” This presentation will answer your questions about ethnic origins and what do maps and percentages mean. She will discuss all major testing companies and talk about Ancestry’s DNA Genetic Communities tool. There will be 15 minutes after the presentation for questions and answers. Guests are welcome to attend. For information go to www.citrusgenealogy.com or call Mary Ann Machonkin at 382-5515

VGS Monthly Meeting Update

At our October 23rd meeting about 175 members were in attendance along with another 75 members attending remotely via a live webinar. Our guest speaker was Amy Johnson Crow, CG and she presented "What Do You Mean There's No Record?! Using Vital Record Substitutes"
Amy stated: "In order to research and identify our ancestors, we must find records about them. Civil vital records are key components to genealogical research. What do you do when your ancestor was born in 1878 in Indiana (where civil birth records didn’t begin until 1882) or died in Ohio in 1862 (where civil death records didn’t begin until 1867)? It’s time to start thinking outside the box and look for other types of records – the vital records substitutes."
If you missed the presentation, the handout and video have been posted on our website under "Members Only."

What Is Soundex And How It Is Still Being Used:

Legacy Family Tree
"Newcomers to genealogy are sometimes confused by the word soundex. Whereas those who have been researching for decades have likely memorized the soundex codes for each of their favorite ancestors' surnames. With the advent of every-name census indexes, soundex has been somewhat left behind."
Continue reading...

Research Clues for those Elusive “Brick Wall” Mysteries:

Ancestry
"You’ve likely hit a brick wall or encountered a mystery in your research if you’ve spent any measure of time piecing together your family tree. It’s not easy. These challenges crop up in many ways. Sometimes your ancestors have a common last name like “Smith” or there is a lack of census data for a particular country or time. In other instances, your ancestors were enslaved people whose surname traces back their owner, but to no one beyond that."
Continue reading...

Family Foodways:

Ancestry
"Merriam-Webster’s dictionary perhaps says it best. Foodways are the “eating habits and culinary practices of a people, region, or historical time period.” Foodways include the growth and production of food, methods of cooking, spices, who cooked the food, social occasions, and special events. Even the intangibles such as aroma, food’s association with memories, folktales and family oral traditions about certain foods or specific meals, and more, can be considered foodways."
Continue reading...

Uncovering Your World War I Ancestors:

FamilySearch
"With over 4.7 million US troops serving in places around the world and countless other men and women involved in supportive services, the chances are pretty high that someone in your family tree participated in World War I—and created records in the process. Some families are already familiar with the individuals on their family trees that were involved while others will need to first identify these World War I ancestors."
Continue reading...

Using Military Records to Bring Your Ancestors to Life:

FamilySearch
"Although military service is part of most of our family trees, military records are often overlooked in learning about our families. Perhaps part of the hesitation is that many people aren’t sure what military records have to offer. Much more than telling if your ancestor was involved in a certain war or conflict, military records can unlock family stories. Here are just a few examples of unexpected discoveries—and some tips on where and how to look to make similar discoveries of your own:"
Continue reading...

Online Historical Newspapers at the Library - ProQuest

The Ancestor Hunt
"Many family history and genealogy researchers who are used to searching for articles about our ancestors in old newspapers have gotten spoiled with the increasingly robust online collections that are available for free.
But did you know that there are other quite large collections that are available via your local library or a library that may require a little bit more drive time?"
Continue reading...

What Type of Transportation Did Your Ancestors Use?

Ancestry
"How did your ancestors get around? Go back far enough, and they primarily walked or rode horses (which were domesticated about 4,000-3,000 B.C.). But how about in more recent times?"
Continue reading...

Technology:

Are My Amazon Echo and Google Home Spying on Everything I Say?

How-to-Geek
"In-home voice assistants like the Amazon Echo and Google Home are convenient, but are they also a secret back door for the government and corporations to spy on everything you say? No. Of course not. Reports of the Echo and Google Home’s ability to spy on you have been greatly exaggerated."
Continue reading...

Education:

The Dangers of Being Careless on Citing Resources in Your Genealogy Research:

Ancestral Findings
"It is just as important to cite your genealogy sources correctly as it is to cite them at all. On today’s Ancestral Findings Podcast, I’ll show you what can happen if you're careless with your sources."
Continue reading... 5.37 minutes

Upcoming Webinars:
There are several webinars scheduled for tomorrow, October 29, to mark the end of "Family History Month." These webinars are sponsored by MyHeritage.

Jewish Family Research Challenges:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"Jewish family research can be complex. Using JewishGen.org as our basis we'll have a chance to experience locating an ancestral village, searching for records in Poland, Lithuania & Galicia, finding others researching similar family names and accessing tombstone information. Additional websites with information available will be mentioned as well - JRI-Poland.org; LitvakSIG.org; GesherGalicia. org; BillionGraves.com; FindAGrave.com You'll better understand the kinds of records available, strategies to interpreting them and important clues in building a Jewish family history will be discussed."
Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 8:00 a.m.
Presenter: Garri Regev
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Introduction to the Use of Autosomal DNA Testing:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"This presentation will describe the basics about the use of autosomal DNA for genealogical purposes. Topics covered will include basic autosomal DNA terms, the interpretation of matching segment data, the impact that endogamy can have on your autosomal DNA results, and practical tips for creating a master match list spreadsheet. An example of how autosomal DNA testing was used to solve a  genealogical research question will also be provided."
Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 9:15 a.m.
Presenter: Tim Janzen
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Google for Genealogy: Search Tricks to Tease Out Information:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"We all use Google multiple times a day in a variety of ways. This course will go over tricks for making the time we spend with Google, particularly with Google search, more fruitful."
Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 10:15 a.m.
Presenter: Jessica Taylor
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Discover Your Family History with MyHeritage's Unique Technologies:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"In the last decade, technology has revitalized genealogy, opening many new frontiers for research, preservation and sharing while maintaining the thrill of the detective hunt. MyHeritage’s key technologies are the precisely the intersection of technology and genealogy: Smart Matches, Record Matches, Instant Discoveries, SearchConnect, Global Name Translation, DNA Matching and the very new Photo Discoveries and Consistency Checker are just a few. Daniel will share how these technologies were invented and improved, describe the challenges they solve, and explain how you can make the most of them for your family history research."
Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 11:15 a.m.
Presenter: Daniel Horowitz
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

How to Pass Your Ancestors' Legacy to Your Grandchildren:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"We've all spent years gathering information about our ancestors. How will this legacy of knowledge get into the heads and hearts of later generations? This class will go over the many options at our fingertips for preserving and sharing our genealogies in a way that children (and adults) will find interesting and inspiring."
Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 12:30 p.m.
Presenter: Jessica Taylor
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Advanced Autosomal DNA Techniques used in Genetic Genealogy:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"This presentation will introduce some advanced techniques used by genetic genealogists including the use of triangulated groups, chromosome mapping, visual phasing, and phasing. Triangulated groups are clusters of matches who all share the same DNA segment and therefore all descend from a common ancestor. All serious genetic genealogists organize their matches into triangulated groups and then look for the shared ancestor common to everyone in each triangulated group. Chromosome mapping is the process of determining which portions of your DNA came from which ancestors and/or which geographic region or population. Chromosome mapping is essential to genetic genealogists. It allows you to focus your attention on a portion of your pedigree chart when you search for a shared ancestor with a match who shares a segment of DNA with you that you have mapped to a specific ancestor. Visual phasing is a powerful technique that helps you refine your chromosome maps if you have autosomal DNA test results from 3 or more siblings."
Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 1:30 p.m.
Presenter: Tim Janzen
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Filling in the In-Between of the Jewish BMD:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"A person’s life is lived 24 hours a day, and includes much more than BMD. A person is involved in all facets of everyday life and we just need to think where to look for the sources that will tell these stories, and in what archive they can be found. The sources can deal with the socio-economic situation, immigration, socialism, the community, politics, education, occupation, youth movements and  others. The aim of the lecture is to show examples of various sources and in what archives or types of archives they were found. This will include the internet and social media. The next step will be for the audience to incorporate the ideas presented into their own family research. Most of the examples will be from the Israel Genealogy Research Association’s [IGRA] All Israel Database (AID) collection. http://genealogy.org.il"
Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.
Presenter: Rose Feldman
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Is this the End? Taking Your German Brick Walls Down Piece by Piece:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"What do you need to look for once you have reached your brick wall? What is available and how do you find it? Learn how to think like a German and understand how to assess the needs of your German research to get the most out of it, from both sides of the ocean. You will understand how a typical German lived and made decisions. Our case study will show you step by step how to overcome a typical brick wall."
Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Luana Darby, MLIS, AG
Learn more or Register for this webinar...