VGS News & Events: 2 December 2018 through 8 December 2018

Attendees at the November 2018 General Meeting
There were another 55 watching from home...

Recent Meeting Comments... Let us know what you think...

Thank you Annette. I enjoyed the webinar from home, where I took copious notes. I am about to begin writing family stories and the idea of a timeline that includes current events was especially appropriate.

The presentation was super. It is such a good idea to have the webinars for those of us who can't be there in person.

The Presentations & Handouts are on our Website under "Members Only" menu item "Webinars and Meetings"

Coming Events:

Monday: December 3, 2018
Jewish Genealogy SIG Meeting:
10:00 AM in the MacArthur Room at the Eisenhower Recreation Center

Topic: "The Immigrant Experience", Phyllis Kramer, IAJGS

Monday: December 3, 2018
Roots Magic SIG Meeting:
2:30 PM in the New Smyrna Room at the Recreation Center

Tuesday: December 4, 2018

Adoption & Mystery KIN SIG Meeting

9:00 AM at the Lake Miona Recreation Center

Wednesday: December 5, 2018

French Canadian Genealogy SIG Meeting:

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

Thursday: December 6, 2018

Eastern European Genealogy SIG Meeting:

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

Friday: December 7, 2018

British SIG Meeting:

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

Coming Soon:

Friday, February 22, 2019 Our 19th Annual All-Day Seminar 9:00 am to 3:30 pm Savannah Regional Recreation Center Our guest speaker will be David E. Rencher, AG,CG,FIGRS,FUGA "David Rencher is FamilySearch International's chief genealogical officer. In his downtown office overlooking the meticulous flower gardens of the Mormon Church’s corporate headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, Rencher has lost none of the passion for family history that started his career nearly four decades ago as a young Irish research reference consultant at the Family History Library just a block away. He is a diehard advocate for the family researcher, and avid proponent for the continual development of tools and tech advancements that raise the tide of quality genealogical research skills employed by the growing wave of family history beginners worldwide." familysearch profile Please note the date, day and place changes for this year's seminar. Download: Seminar Packet

Gen News and Announcements:

The VGS Library...

Do you know about the VGS member library? Many members do not. This is a section in "Members Only" where you can find a list of, currently, 109 books that are available from other VGS members. These books are available for loan or onsite viewing depending on the arrangements made with the book owner.  To see a list of books, log into "Members Only" > menu option "Library Books"

New Historical Records on FamilySearch: Week of November 19, 2018:

Family Search
"FamilySearch added an astounding 79.5 million indexed Lutheran records from Germany, and almost 1 million more from the Ireland 1901 Census.  Other countries include Benin, Costa Rica, Portugal, South Africa, and the United States (Michigan, Georgia, and Montana)."
Search now...

Online Genealogy Records Can Disappear: Simple Ways to Protect Your Research:

Family History Daily
"These days, millions of people have family trees online, with facts and sources gathered from the many online databases that are available. But, be aware, some of these sources could just disappear. No warning, just gone - because online record collections are not guaranteed to stay online, or publicly accessible, forever."
Continue reading...

Fun New Features at Ancestry DNA:

Kitty Cooper
"I really like a number of the features that have come out recently at Ancestry. My favorite is that the total amount of DNA shared with each DNA relative is now shown on the match list page in centimorgans (cMs). This means that you no longer have to click through to the match page to find that number. Those total cMs are needed in order to look up the possible relationships at the DNApainter calculator."
Continue reading...

These Two Simple Tricks Will Help You Figure Out Cousin Relationships Without a Chart:

Family History Daily
"Cousinship, or the relationship two cousins have to one another, is one of the most confusing concepts in genealogy and genetic genealogy. For those new to family history research, the task of deciphering these relationships can be downright daunting. What is a 5th cousin? How about a 3rd cousin once removed?"
Continue reading...

How Not to Bore People With Genealogy:

Amy Johnson Crow
"It's natural to talk genealogy at family gatherings. But if you don't want to bore your relatives who aren't as into genealogy as you are, you have to go into it with a strategy. Here are some ways to NOT bore people with your genealogy."
Continue reading...

5 Overlooked Things on FamilySearch:

Amy Johnson Crow
"FamilySearch has billions of records for us to use in our genealogy. But there are 5 often-overlooked sections of the website that can be beneficial to our research."
Continue reading...

Technology:

The Essential Ebook Converter Guide:

Dan Price
"When it comes to ebooks there are more than a dozen common file types. And each of these has different strengths and is compatible with different ereaders. Which is why you might find yourself in need of an ebook converter.
In this article, we’ll explain everything there is to know about converting ebooks."
Continue reading...

Education:

How to Use Book Databases to Further Your Family History:

Ancestral Findings...
"There are several book databases online that can help you further your family history research by hooking you up with rare books with mentions of your family in them. Today, I’ll give you the how to find and use these informative databases."
Listen now... 5.00 minutes

Webinars:

Ins and Outs of Indexes: Keys to Unlocking County and State Records:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"Indexes for county records are the key to finding deeds, probates and more. As FamilySearch digitizes more and more records, it's crucial to be familiar with different indexing systems and how to use them. The same skills are necessary for onsite courthouse and archive research."
Wednesday, December 5, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Mary Kircher Roddy
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Legacy 9 Unlocked (part 9): Adding an Entry from an Online Database

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"In this class, “Adding an Entry from an Online Database,” you’ll learn the six steps of adding information from any online database to Legacy. You’ll also learn about the Find A Grave tool."
Friday, December 7, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Geoff Rasmussen
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Monday: December 10, 2018

VGS Live Webinar:

7:00 PM Online
Topic: "Fraternal Organizations: The Original Social Network"
Presented by: Dannell "Danni" Altman-Newell
Register to attend HERE...