VGS News & Events: 31 December 2017 through 6 January 2018

The Board of Directors wishes all a Happy and Successful Research Year

Coming Events:

VGS Members can attend any of these events...

Monday: January 1, 2018
Happy New Year's

The Jewish Genealogy SIG and the RootsMagic SIG Meetings have been canceled.

Tuesday: January 2, 2018

Italian Genealogy SIG Meeting

1:00 PM in the Atlanta Room in the Savannah Center

Topic: "Introduction to FamilySearch" John DeAngelo, VGS Webmaster

Wednesday: January 3, 2018

French Canadian Genealogy SIG Meeting:

9:00 AM in the Julio Iglesias Room at the La Hacienda Recreation Center
Topic: "Hereditary Disorders in the French Canadian Population of Quebec"

Thursday: January 4, 2018

Eastern European Genealogy SIG Meeting:

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

Friday: January 5, 2018

British Genealogy SIG Meeting

9:30 AM in the Courageous Room at the Lake Miona Recreation Center
Topic: Pat Adams will show her DNA results as they appear on AncestryDNA, FTDNA, MyHeritage and Living DNA.

Friday: January 5, 2018

Genetic Genealogy SIG Meeting

10:00 AM in the Rhett Butler Room at the Savannah Center

Topic: "Genealogy 101"

Note the date change for this meeting...

Upcoming Workshops
Wednesday: January 17, 2018 at the Lake Miona Recreation Center at 1:30 p.m.
Mark Olsen: Family Tree Maker Community Ambassador
"Learn the latest features of FTM 2017"
Registration is required. Space is limited to 150 members.
Registration begins January 2, 1018 at 8:00 a.m. on our website home page.

January 24, 2018 at the Savannah Center at 1:30 p.m.
Maureen Taylor: The Photo Detective
"Discovering Genealogical Clues in 19th-Century Photographs"
Registration is required. Space is limited to 100 members.
Registration begins January 2, 1018 at 8:00 a.m. on our website home page.

Wednesday: February 28, 2018

Our Annual All-Day Seminar

9:00 AM in the La Hacienda Recreation Center
Download the Registration Packet HERE...

Gen News & Announcements:

4 Reasons to Join a Genealogical Society:

Ancestry
"Given the immense quantity of material available through Ancestry and elsewhere online, you may not have considered the many benefits of joining a genealogical society. Societies range in size from a few dozen to thousands of members, and typically have a focus. That focus could be based in geography, surname, nationality, or ethnic group. Automatically, membership will link you to others who have a similar research focus. Here’s several reasons why you should consider society membership as an important part of your genealogical toolkit."
Continue reading...

Using Obituaries to Find Your Family:

FamilySearch
"You probably know people who are avid obituary readers. They regularly scan their local papers, looking for people they know. While reading about other people’s deaths might strike you as an unusual hobby, the truth is that every family researcher should become an avid obituary reader. The reason is simple: obituaries are potentially the most valuable record you can use to discover information about your family."
Continue reading...

Provost Marshal Records Will Help in Your Civil War Research:

The In-Depth Genealogist

"Many records were created by the local Provost Marshal’s office. Those records, Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registrations, Registers of Drafted Men, Recruits, and Substitutes, Medical Registers of Examinations of Recruits and Substitutes, Registers of Medical Examinations Showing Rejections and Exemptions are available and can be searched."

Continue reading...

I Don’t Care Where You Put the Comma:

Amy Johnson Crow
"What you are about to read might be considered by some to be heretical. Read at your own risk"
Continue reading...
Editor's Note: A very realistic approach to sourcing your research.

What to Do When a Record Doesn't Tell You Much:

Amy Johnson Crow
"Unfortunately, not every record is rich in detail. But just because it's a skimpy record doesn't mean we can't use it. Here's what to do when a record doesn't tell you very much."
Continue reading...

The Biggest Genealogy News Stories of 2017:

FamilyTree Magazine
"The biggest genealogy stories of 2017 are almost all about genetic genealogy. There’ll be another topic or two, but DNA is definitely the attention-getter in genealogy these days. Without further ado:"
Continue reading...

Newest Genealogy Records on the Internet:

GenealogyOnFire
"A listing of the newest genealogy records that have become available on the Internet." This list is not just records from Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org
Continue reading...

New Historic Records on FamilySearch: Week of December 21, 2017:

FamilySearch
"If you're looking for deceased relatives, you're in luck! More than two million historic records from Find A Grave were added on FamilySearch this week. Many more records from Brazil, Delaware, England, Illinois, Italy, Michigan, Nambia, Peru, and the United States were also published."
Search now...

Technology:

What’s the Best Anti-virus for Windows 10? (Is Windows Defender Good Enough?)

How-to-Geek
"Windows 10 won’t hassle you to install an anti-virus like Windows 7 did. Since Windows 8, Windows now includes a built-in anti-virus called Windows Defender (which used to be available separately as Microsoft Security Essentials). But is it really the best for protecting your PC–or even just good enough?"
Continue reading...

10 Quick Ways to Speed Up a Slow PC Running Windows 7, 8, or 10":

How-to-Geek
"Windows PCs don’t have to slow down over time. Whether your PC has gradually become slower or it suddenly ground to a halt a few minutes ago, there could be quite a few reasons for that slowness.
As with all PC issues, don’t be afraid to give your computer a reboot if something’s not working properly. This can fix quite a few problems and is faster than attempting to manually troubleshoot and fix the problem yourself."
Continue reading...

Education:

Five Important Time-Saving Tips for Getting Your Genealogy Research Done:

Ancestral Findings...
"Is your genealogy research time limited due to other commitments? You need to make the most out of every research moment you have. Join me today and I’ll show you how."
Listen HERE...  8:05 minutes

Webinars:

Did I Get Everything? Creating a Checklist for Genealogy Research

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"Are you really done with researching that ancestor? Many genealogists think they have a brick wall when, in fact, they just haven't done a reasonably exhaustive search. Learn how to assemble a genealogy research checklist to take your genealogy to the next level."
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Thomas MacEntee
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Legacy 9 Unlocked (part 1): Your First Few Legacy Tips

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"Are you really done with researching that "In this series, Legacy’s Geoff Rasmussen will guide you through the step-by-steps of properly adding genealogy documents, citations, and digital media to your Legacy Family Tree 9 software. Each class is based on a different chapter in his popular book, Legacy 9 Unlocked: Techniques, Tips and Step-By-Steps for Using Legacy Family Tree to Record Your Genealogy. Watch them in order if you want to  follow the mystery or jump around to capture the instructions.

In this class, “Your First Few Legacy Tips,” you will learn about the Forms Center (helpful for enlarging those hard-to-read census record headings), the Chronology View (Legacy’s most powerful tool), and how to record and print alternate names."
Friday, January 05, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Geoff Rasmussen
Learn more or Register for this webinar..

Irish Genealogy Research:

IRBI
"British Institute instructor, Fintan Mullan, will give us a taster of what we can expect if we take his week long course on Irish Research at British Institute 2018."
Saturday, January 13, 2018: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST
Register for this webinar...

Free Family History Library Classes and Webinars for January 2018:

FamilySearch
"If your New Year's resolutions include free, how-to family history classes, then look no further than the array of webinars and classes offered by the Family History Library starting in January 2018."
There are 24 to choose from...
See the webinar list...