VGS News & Events: 12 November 2017 through 18 November 2017

Coming Events:

Monday: November 13, 2017

Family Tree Maker Users SIG Meeting

1:00 PM in the Patriot Room at the Mulberry Grove Recreation Center

Tuesday: November 14, 2017

Adoption & Mystery Kin SIG Meeting

9:30 AM at the coordinators home.
Topic: "Mirror Trees" by Tami Brooks
Contact the coordinator for location and directions HERE

Tuesday: November 14, 2017

Genealogy Writers SIG Meeting

2:30 PM in the Destin Room at the Sea Breeze Recreation Center
Presentation: "Grandpa Lurvey": An Ancestor in Historical Context." Guest speaker Dick Coffin

Wednesday: November 15, 2017

Brick Wall SIG Meeting

This meeting has been cancelled!

Wednesday: November 15, 2017

General Monthly Meeting

10:00 AM at the Savannah Center

Presentation: “Religious Records and Their Genealogical Use”

Guest Speaker: David McDonald, CG

Wednesday: November 15, 2017

Workshop

1:30 PM at the Savannah Center

Presentation: “Migration to the Midwest and Great Plains”

Guest Speaker: David McDonald, CG

You must register for this Workshop. Click HERE to register...

Thursday: November 16, 2017

New England Genealogy SIG Meeting

Noon in the New Smyrna Room at the Sea Breeze Recreation Center

Friday: November 17, 2017

Scandinavian Genealogy SIG Meeting

10:00 AM in the Clearwater Room Sea Breeze Recreation Center

Reminder: The VGS Annual All-Say Seminar Registration is now open.

February 28, 2018
Complete details and a registration packet HERE...

New: The Southwest Florida Germanic Genealogy Society Seminar

February 16, 2018 in Port Charlotte, Florida
Download a Registration form HERE...
Several members attended last February's seminar and found that the material provided was well-presented, detailed and very helpful.

Gen News & Announcements:

Did You Know That You Can Borrow Books From Internet Archive?

NGS

"I learned that you can “borrow” books for 14 days from the Internet Archive via its Books to Borrow page. In order to do this you must be registered with Internet Archive.  Here is a FAQs page on how you can borrow from the lending library.
Continue reading...

How ‘Photo Detectives’ Have Helped Reveal Irish History:

Atlas Obscura
"With approximately 5.2 million photographs dating from the 19th century on, the National Library of Ireland’s Photographic Archive is thought of as a sort of national family album. But time dulls historical memory, and a lot of information about the people captured in those images has been forgotten.
Continue reading...

Completing Tasks on the FamilySearch Tree Mobile App:

FamilySearch
"There’s a reason family history is so important—taking some time out of each day to turn your heart to your ancestors can enrich your life, establish your identity, and strengthen your family. Thanks to new and constantly advancing technologies that are available today, it has become easier than ever to integrate family history moments into your daily life in simple, rewarding ways."
Continue reading...

11 Tips For Reading Old Handwriting:

FindMyPast
"Paleography, or the study of old handwriting, is an art form, to say the least. Not only does paleography require many years of careful studying and analysis, it is also deeply rooted in history and the understanding of historical documents."
Continue reading...

How to Manage Your Family's Digital Assets:

Dick Eastman
"Now that we have all these digital devices, have we figured out what to do with the fruits of those devices—the mounds of digital files and sources we amass daily, weekly, monthly, yearly? What do we do with all our personal digital content that makes up our digital lives?"
Continue reading...

Your Genealogy Research Could Land Your DNA Results An A Criminal Investigation:

KIRO7 & Dick Eastman
"The article is a bit sensationalist, emphasizing one very small negative in what I believe to be a testing process that is filled with lots of positive stories. Nonetheless, you might want to think about this a bit before submitting a DNA sample."
Continue reading...

FREE ACCESS THIS WEEKEND AT FINDMYPAST! 

Get access to US and UK Military Records November 8-12, 2017

FindMyPast

"Don’t let your family’s military heroes be forgotten. Unearth their remarkable stories in original documents from the US, UK, Ireland and more. Together, we’ll keep their legacies alive."

Continue reading...

Your DNA Has A Story To Share. Now There’s A Better Way To Tell It.

Ancestry
"As we’ve talked to customers about what you want from your AncestryDNA results, your comments and suggestions inspired us to make some changes. So we’ve integrated more of your DNA test data into a single experience we call your DNA Story."
Continue reading...

Technology:

How to Get Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update Now:

How-to-Geek
"Microsoft has started rolling out Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update, but it will be a few months before every PC gets it. If you don’t want to wait, you can download the Fall Creators Update from Microsoft right now."
Continue reading...

What’s new in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update:

Windows Blog
"The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is beginning to roll out to Windows 10 customers around the world, and we’re outlining all the great new features available in the update with this blog post and our special episode of This Week on Windows."
Continue reading...

Education:

What is a GEDCOM?

Ancestral Findings
"What is a GEDCOM? It is an important word you will come across a lot in online genealogy. Join me on today’s episode of the Ancestral Findings Podcast… now is the ideal time to learn."
Listen now... 5.37 minutes

Webinars:

British and Irish research: The Differences

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"Ireland was England's oldest colony, so many assume the records will be the same. They are not precisely because the two country's histories and their relationship to each other were different. We all know about the terrible loss of Irish records, but there are great treasure troves of surviving records which don't exist in England - records about war, rebellion, security and land control. So while there are great obstacles (record loss, language, differing histories), there is a great wealth of resources rarely accessed by genealogists. This talk will examine these differences in records and research techniques between Britain and Ireland, why Irish records were created, or destroyed, and how they can be used to unlock your past."
Wednesday, November 15, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Brian Donovan
Learn more or Register for this webinar...