VGS News & Events: June 7 through June 13, 2020

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.  This list is very fluid. Check the "Coming Events" section of the website as event news becomes available.

Monday, June 8

“Italian SIG Monday Afternoon ZOOM Meeting” 

1:00 pm 

There guest speaker is Gary Palmer: "His book, The Five Percent Minority"

He will explain his childhood and how he overcame adversity.

Contact the SIG Coordinator for access information.

Monday, June 8

“Mining for Treasures in the Internet Archive”  (Live Webinar)

7:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Online Webinar

Our guest speaker will be: Carla Cegielski 

Description: The Internet Archive is not just the Wayback Machine! It also contains audio items, movies, images, software, maps, and texts. Take a tour of its contents and learn search strategies for accessing its genealogical treasures.

Please register for the webinar HERE...

Gen News and Announcements:

New Free Historical Records on FamilySearch: Week of 26 May 2020

FamilySearch
"FamilySearch added 1.2 M new, free, historical records this week to United States collections including 800K from California. World collections added church, civil, and tax records for American Samoa, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, England, Finland, France, Honduras, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Niue, Peru, Puerto Rico, South Africa, and Sweden.  Additional United States records were for AZ, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IN, IA, LA, MI, MN, MS, MT, NE, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TX, UT, VA, and WI."
Search now...

New Free Historical Records on FamilySearch: Week of 1 June 2020

FamilySearch
"FamilySearch added 6.5 million New York land records and over 1 million Uruguay passenger lists, 1880 - 1980.  Additional records were added for American Samoa, Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, France, Iceland, Ireland, Niue, Norway, Peru, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom.  Additional US records were added for AK, CA, HI, ID, IA, KS, LA, MN, MS, NY, NC, OH, PA, UT, VA, and WI."
Search now...

DNA Testing: Ethical Considerations

Genealogical.com
"Millions of people have voluntarily undergone DNA testing. Probably millions more would do so if they were not bothered about the privacy issues associated with DNA testing."
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6 of the Best Genealogy Podcasts to Listen to Now:

Family Tree
"podcasts are reviving the art of informative audio. Edison Research reported in 2016 that 21 percent of Americans age 12 and older had listened to at least one podcast in the past month."
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The 23andme Family Tree built from DNA

Kitty Cooper
"The dream of every genetic genealogist is to be able to build a family tree from just DNA. 23andme made a terrific start on this with their Beta family tree released in October. Now it is out of test mode and they have added good editing facilities. Being slightly obsessive, I tried it out with almost everyone whose login I have (my family and many friends and clients)."

Continue reading...

Did My Family Not Hug Because of the Spanish Flu?

Shop the Hound
"As the world begins the stages of the “new normal” and we slowly get back to interacting with people it’s made me wonder about how my family handled things during the Spanish Flu."
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Technology:

No, the iOS 13.5 iPhone Update Won’t Send Your Health Data to the Government:

How-to Geek
"On May 20, 2020, iPhones started to receive iOS 13.5, which includes a COVID‑19 Exposure Notifications API. Despite the contract tracing feature being voluntary, people are already worried that personal information will be misused. Here’s why you don’t need to worry."
Continue reading...

Education:

1918 Flu Pandemic

CBS Sunday Morning
"The pandemic of H1N1 virus in 1918 infected about one-third of the world's population, causing at least 50 million deaths, including more than a half-million in the United States.  Martha Teichner reports."
Listen now... 6.37 minutes

Webinars:

How Members of the LDS Church Can Benefit from the FamilySearch/MyHeritage Partnership:

Legacy Family Tree
"A partnership between MyHeritage and FamilySearch benefits members of the LDS Church with a free subscription to MyHeritage. Many members fail to benefit from this partnership. One opportunity is to synchronize information between MyHeritage and the FamilySearch Family Tree. This webinar highlights major partnership opportunities for members of the Church. "
Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern
Presenter: James Tanner
Learn more or Register for this event...

Using DNA to Answer Real Research Questions: Three Case Studies

Legacy Family Tree
"DNA tests provide opportunities for researchers to solve specific research questions. Gail Shaffer Blankenau will demonstrate how to combine DNA results with traditional research methods to make those fascinating DNA results useful."
Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern
Presenter: Gail Blankenau
Learn more or Register for this event...