VGS News & Events: June 28 through July 4, 2020

4th of July

Practice Social-Distancing

Coming Events:  Due to Covid-19, no Rec Center meetings this coming week. Some SIG's are having virtual meetings. Be on the lookout for emails announcing the meetings and how to connect to them.  That list is very fluid. Check the "Coming Events" section of the website as event news becomes available.

All remaining regular Monthly Meetings for 2020 will be virtual meetings.

Our guest speaker for our 21st Annual All-Day Seminar, 24 Feb 2021, will be Amy Johnson Crow.  More details on that as they become available.

Coming Events:

Thursday, July 2

Eastern European Genealogy SIG Google Meet Meeting

1:00 pm

Google Meet Online Meeting

Contact the coordinator for access codes...

Gen News and Announcements:

New Free Historical Records on FamilySearch: Week of 22 June 2020

FamilySearch
"FamilySearch added 2.3M Find A Grave indexed records this week, and significant additions were also made to England, New York, Peru, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah collections. See the table below for the full list of this week's historical records updates."
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Can Your Family Tree Pass the 5 Step “Proof” Test?

Family History Daily
"The Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) helps genealogists sort out, verify, and document facts through simple, straightforward guidance."
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The Powerful Genealogy Hints Tool You’ve Probably Never Used:

Family History Daily
"The MyHeritage Discoveries engine, as it is called, does a brilliant job of connecting researchers with new records in a way that will actually help you grow your tree"
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Y DNA: Step-by-Step Big Y Analysis:

DNAeXplained
"Many males take the Big Y-700 test offered by FamilyTreeDNA, so named because testers receive the most granular haplogroup SNP results in addition to 700+ included STR marker results. If you’re not familiar with those terms, you might enjoy the article, STRs vs SNPs, Multiple DNA Personalities."
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455 Free Mid Atlantic States Online Historical Newspaper Titles Added:

The Ancestor Hunt
"455 new and updated Free Historical Newspaper Links have been added to the Mid-Atlantic States' free "newspaper link lists": These were all updated in June, 2020, and represent additions from the past 6 months. For all 8 states, the total number of links is 5,967.  Just click on your chosen state below and the links to newspaper titles from that state will appear."
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Technology:

How to Use Multiple Email Signatures in Gmail:

How-to Geek
"An email signature is an important way to quickly add a personalized touch to the end of every email you send. But different types of emails call for different signatures. Set up several signatures in your Gmail for work, friends, and family."
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Education:

Why Citing Sources is Crucial in Genealogy and How to Do it Right:

Ancestral Findings
"As a beginning genealogist, you may not give much thought to citing your sources in your research. However, it is a vitally important part of any serious type of genealogical pursuit. Citing sources serves a variety of purposes. Most importantly, it lets you know where you found your information."
Listen now... 6.31 minutes

Webinars:

The 1939 Register for Family Historians:

Legacy Family Tree
"Following on from the declaration of War, on September 29th 1939, the details of the population of Great Britain and Northern Ireland were recorded and identity cards were issued. Findmypast has now published the registers for England and Wales. This talk will look at searching the 1939 Register and what to do with the information you find."
Tuesday, June 30, 2020 at 10:00 p.m. Eastern
Presenter: Fiona Brooker
Learn more or Register for this event...

Finding a Father for Molly - Using DNA:

Legacy Family Tree
"Oral tradition told the story; DNA identified the father. The case study illustrates using matches on Ancestry and GEDmatch to narrow the number of candidates, developing and implementing a targeted testing plan, hypothesis development and using documentary evidence to support the conclusion---while complying with genetic standards. The use of the X-match, not often employed is utilized as well. It’s a simple case to illustrate basic principles without jargon"
Wednesday, July 1, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern
Presenter: Jill Morelli, CG
Learn more or Register for this event...