VGS News & Events: July 5 through July 11, 2020

Practice Social-Distancing

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.

Coming Events:

Monday, July 6

RootsMagic Special Interest Group Zoom Meeting

2:30 pm to 4:00 pm

Online Zoom Webinar
Val Harris Co-Ordinator

"Using List Reports in RootsMagic 7" - Ken Macomber

Contact the Coordinator for a Meeting Link...

Tuesday, July 7
Adoption & Mystery Kin SIG Meeting

9:30 am

Online Webinar

Anne Berg & Marcella Zorn, Co-coordinators

Guest Speaker is Lisa Freeman

Presentation: Lisa will discuss Search Angels: who they are and what they do, how to use the service, free and paid searches, and the materials the Search Angels need from us to begin our search.  She will also give basic and intermediate research tips on using Ancestry to find birth relatives as well as mystery kin. 

Presenter's Bio: Lisa Freeman is a genetic genealogist who works with the nonprofit SearchAngels.org. Lisa specializes in finding the birth parents of adoptees, as well as solving mysteries on family trees. She has approximately 10 years of genealogy experience and five years of genetics experience. Lisa is a wife, a mother of two, and teaches high school math in northern Virginia. 

Please register for the webinar at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/238868209548383502

Wednesday, July 8

Genetic Genealogy SIG Zoom Bonus Meeting

7:00 pm

Online Zoom Meeting

Sherry Bean and Diann LaRosa, coordinators

Topic:  "How 23andMe’s DNA Test Helped Me Unravel a Secret Family"

Dave Johnston, blogger for howtogeek.com will be joining the Genetic SIG for a Special Zoom Meeting.

Description: He will give a short talked related to his article. He then will answer questions.

Read his article HERE...
Contact the coordinator for meeting login information

Friday, July 10

Genetic Genealogy SIG Zoom Meeting

10:00 am to 11:50 am

Online Zoom Meeting

Sherry Bean and Diann LaRosa, coordinators

Topic:  Basic:   "Using Ancestry colored dots" 

Topic:  Advanced:  "Ancestry colored dots using tags and filtering."
Contact the coordinator for login information

Monday, July 13

“Anatomy of a Case Study: Steps Used to Write for Yourself or for Publication” 

7:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Online Webinar
Please register for the webinar at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/511879143025381388

Gen News and Announcements:

Latest News from The Villages Recreation Department.

All recreation sponsored events (Camp Villages, Socials etc.) and Resident Lifestyle Volunteer Groups have been postponed until further notice.  All current openings and activities will remain the same (arts & crafts, fitness clubs, court sports and swimming pools).

580 Free Mid West States Online Historical Newspaper Titles Added:

The Ancestor Hunt
"580 new and updated Free Online Historical Newspaper Links have been added to the Mid West States' free "newspaper link lists": These were all updated in June, 2020, and represent additions from the past 6 months. There is a total of 12,315 historical newspapers available to search for free from the Mid West."
Continue reading...

570 Free Mid Atlantic States Online Photo Archives Available:

The Ancestor Hunt
"An old proverb states that "the eyes are the windows into the soul." A genealogy corollary is that "a photo is a window into the lives of your ancestors."
Continue reading...

French Traditions and Culture:

FamilySearch
"Understanding French culture and traditions can help you better understand your family heritage if you have French ancestors. Discover where you’re from and more about your ancestors with the help of FamilySearch Discoveries."
Continue reading...

Best Genealogy Sites for Irish Research:

Donna Moughty
"I decided to write on what I thought were the Best Genealogy Sites for Irish Research. This will be a continuing series checking out one or two sites each week. If you haven't identified a locality in Ireland, you need to do that before most of these sites will be helpful."
Continue reading...

Celtic Connections Virtual Conference

CO-HOSTED BY: The Irish Genealogical Society International (IGSI)  & The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA)
31 July - 31 August 2020
Cost: $99.00
Learn more here...

Technology:

What’s the Best Way to Back Up My Computer?

How-to Geek
"Everyone loses data at some point in their lives. Your computer’s hard drive could fail tomorrow, ransomware could hold your files hostage, or a software bug could delete your important files. If you’re not regularly backing up your computer, you could lose those files forever."
Continue reading...

Education:

8 Fresh Genealogy Tips for Building Your Family Tree:

Ancestral Findings
"Do you need some new ideas for discovering information on your ancestors? Try these eight fresh tips."
Listen now...  5:07 minutes

Webinars:

Turning Dry Facts Into Exciting Narrative:

Legacy Family Tree
"The literary world condemns most family histories as ‘fact-driven and tedious’ because they are usually little more than prose timelines. Yet the phrase ‘family history’ communicates the three ingredients needed to produce a piece of prose that is interesting to read: ‘family’ (the facts about the family), ‘history’ (the historical context) and ‘story’. This seminar focuses on the first two ingredients and shows how we can weave our facts together in such a way that the reader is keen to keep on reading."
Wednesday, July 8, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern
Presenter: Carol Baxter
Learn more or Register for this event...