VGS News & Events: 24 February through 2 March 2019

Our Annual Seminar was very successful with about 270 members present.
David Rencher, from FamilySearch, was our guest speaker.

Coming Events:

Monday: February 25, 2019

Technology SIG Meeting:

10:00 AM in the Destin Room at the Sea Breeze Recreation Center
Topic: Family Book Creator
(A Plug-In for Family Tree Maker 2017)

Tuesday: February 26, 2019

Midwest SIG Meeting:

2:00 PM in the Clearwater Room at the Sea Breeze Recreation Center

Wednesday: February 27, 2019

Brick Wall SIG Meeting

8:30 AM in the Savannah Recreation Center

Wednesday: February 27, 2019

General Monthly Meeting
Topic: "Could Our Ancestors Have Met?"
10:00 AM in the Savannah Recreation Center

Friday: March 1, 2019

British SIG Meeting:

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

Friday: March 1, 2019

Genetic Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

Note meeting date change...

Presentation: "DNA Show and Tell"

Gen News and Announcements:

An Open Letter to President Pat Adams...

Dear Pat,

     Thanks to The Villages for letting us tag along on your trip which my sister, Marcia Lloyd told us about. A special thanks to Dale Heins for sending all the handouts and for keeping us informed and including us in all the well-planned activities. All the lectures were very informative and helpful, and the AV equipment of microphone, large screen and good projector provided everyone with a good view and we were able to hear all speakers easily. I am envious of your genealogical group , its size and activities, diversity of subjects studied and enthusiasm of members.
     We have many genealogical groups here in New England, but you cover much more territory.
     We enjoyed meeting with many of your members at dinner and in the library, talking with George, Drew and Ann, and learning more about many aspects of genealogy. DNA is, of course, intriguing and I was lucky enough to give an adopted man’s family enough information about his biological family to welcome a new cousin to ours. Also, with Blaine’s advice, I hope to find my sister-in-law’s unknown grandfather. I hope his family will be equally welcoming.
     You folks are lucky to have such varied resources within your group.
     Thank you again for including us. Send us email if someone needs help with South Shore (towns south of Boston) research. We also have a genealogical library (Dyer) nearby in Abington which has local resources.
Sincerely,
Karen and Dick Rich
Whitman, MA

News - Cool Cash Winner Announced

Congratulations to Susan Hohneman who was the winner of our February Cool Cash Drawing. Our winner was drawn at the Annual Seminar.
The question for March can be found on our website under "Members Only."  To enter to have a chance at winning at the March General Meeting, sign-in under "Members Only" to submit your answer.

News - Hard Times 

Finding Your Roots
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the family stories of filmmaker Michael Moore and actors Laura Linney and Chloë Sevigny—three people whose distant ancestors overcame great hardships in ways that resonate with their lives today. Premieres Tuesday, February 26, 8/7c

New Historical Records Added in January 2019

MyHeritage
"We are excited to announce that we have added 7,291,329 new historical records to SuperSearch™ during January 2019. Added collections are The 1940 Denmark Census; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Passenger Lists, 1883-1945; and the Port of New York, Index to Discharged or Deserted Crew, 1917-1957."
Continue reading...

How to Use Your Existing DNA Test to Get a Low-Cost Genetic Health Report:

Family History Daily
"Here at Family History Daily we’ve covered DNA testing for genealogy research pretty extensively, but we’ve always focused on ancestry reports, not health reports. This is because we’ve always felt that the genetic “health” information provided today, which is still very much in its infancy, could be taken out of context and possibly cause distress and confusion to some users. In fact, some data offered by certain websites seems designed to mislead.
However, these reports are becoming more common and many more people are taking advantage of them. For this reason we have decided to cover one of the more respected options so that you have a trusted source to turn to if you decide to explore your own genetic health information."
Continue reading...

5 Genealogy Tasks That Should Be On Your To-Do List in 2019:

Family History Daily
"We’ve got some suggestions that just might help you take your family history to the next level. Consider picking one or more of these important tasks and adding them to your to-do list this year."
Continue reading...

Massachusetts Archives Makes Digital Documents Available

GenealogyBlog
"BOSTON — The Massachusetts Archives has launched an online collection of records of state agencies, including a searchable index of Massachusetts casualties in World War II, records of the administration of Governor Deval Patrick and town plans from 1794 through 1830."
Continue reading...

Technology:

10 Annoying Problems You Can Solve with Smarthome Devices:

How-to-Geek
"Smarthomes are easier to put together than ever. While they’re still not a necessity, what they are useful for is solving annoying problems around your home."
Continue reading...

Education:

What Makes Genealogy So Important?

Ancestral Findings

"What are your reasons for doing genealogy? If you are a beginner or haven’t started yet, your personal reasons will be your motivation. Today I’ll give you the most common reasons for doing genealogy."
Listen now... 7.42 minutes

Webinars:

Spreadsheets 401 : Excel-lent Inspiration:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"Take a trip with spreadsheets to the lands of your ancestors. Learn how spreadsheets can help as you learn to read foreign language newspapers. Use spreadsheets as a translation tool for your ancestors' vital and religious records. Create a spreadsheet to track your ancestors and those great ethnic or locality websites – when you find a new ancestor or a new website you’ll be ready to dive in."
Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Mary Kircher Roddy
Learn more or Register for this webinar...