VGS News & Events: February 16 through February 22, 2020

Coming Events:

Tuesday: February 18, 2020

Family Tree Maker Users SIG Meeting

1:00 PM in the Patriot Room at the Mulberry Grove Recreation Center
Topics: "Filters & Using FamilySearch" + Your Questions answered.

Wednesday: February 19, 2020

Annual Seminar

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM at the Savannah Recreation Center
Doors open at 8:00 a.m.

Thursday: February 20, 2020

New England Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

Friday: February 21, 2020

Scandinavian Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

Gen News and Announcements:

FREE ACCESS to Marriage Records at MyHeritage!

MyHeritage
"February 14–18, 2020 only!  Their collections contain over 440 million records from the United States and around the world.  I just downloaded information from a 1945 marriage in England."
Search now...

New Free Historical Records on FamilySearch: Week of 10 February 2020

FamilySearch
"FamilySearch.org has added millions of free historical church and civil records to its collections from Denmark, France, and Pennsylvania USA. Millions more are now easily searched from Africa, American Samoa, the United Kingdom, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Gibraltar, Brazil, the Dominican Republic,  Nova Scotia, and the United States."
Search now...

New Free Historical Records on FamilySearch: Week of 4 February 2020

FamilySearch
"This week, over 2 million Pennsylvania birth records (1709 to 1950) were added to FamilySearch.org. More new, free, historical records this week include almost 600k Swedish marriage records, Argentine baptisms, Barbados marriages, Chilean deaths, Oxfordshire parish registers, Guatemalan civil registrations, Georgia christenings, and World War II draft registration cards from Virginia. More records from American Samoa, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, Puerto Rico, Sierra Leone, South Africa and the United States."
Search now...

RootsTech 2020 Announces Free Livestream Schedule:

FamilySearch
"RootsTech 2020 announced its free online streaming schedule. Starting Wednesday, February 26, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. MDT, a select number of classes and events, including the daily keynote speakers, will be broadcast live at RootsTech.org. View the free streaming schedule for each day. Join or follow RootsTech social media conversations using #NotAtRootsTech. Sessions will be available to view on-demand after the livestream ends.
Purchase or add on the Virtual Pass and get access to 30 recorded classes from the event."
Continue reading...

Colorize Your Heritage:

My Heritage
"Colorize your black & white family photos automatically with the world’s best deep learning technology."
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6 Signs It’s Time to Get Help From a Professional Genealogist:

Family History Daily
"How do you know when it’s time to take the leap and bring an expert into your research? Here are 6 signs to watch out for."
Continue reading...

Technology:

How to Switch to a Local User Account on Windows 10:

How-To Geek
"Windows 10’s setup process now forces you to sign in with a Microsoft account. If you’d rather use a local user account, Microsoft says you should switch from Microsoft to a local user account afterward. Here’s how."
Continue reading...

Education:

The Ten Best Genealogy Websites for Beginners:

Ancestral Findings
"These ten websites are among the best for genealogy beginners. Everyone has to start somewhere, and in the era of modern genealogy, you can do much without having to leave your house. Join me today and I’ll suggest using ten beginner websites to get you off to the best start."
Listen now...   7.28 minutes

Webinars:

A Convincing Argument or a Convoluted Mess:

Legacy Family Tree
"You’ve done the research and have the strongest available evidence. Now you just need that soundly reasoned, coherently written conclusion based on that evidence."
Tuesday, February 18, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern
Presenter:  Barbara Vines Little, CG, FNGS, FVGS
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Newspapers for People of Color Genealogy Research:

Legacy Family Tree
"Newspapers can be a goldmine for genealogy, especially in the case of records destruction or when all other avenues have failed to yield findings on an ancestor. In this session, we’ll discuss all you need to know to get the most out of using periodicals as genealogical resources for people of color communities."
Wednesday, February 19, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern
Presenter: Nicka Smith
Learn more or Register for this webinar...