Showing posts with label Massachusetts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Massachusetts. Show all posts

Saturday, February 23, 2019

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 ChloĆ« 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...


Wednesday, May 24, 2017

VGS Latest News and Tips: May 24, 2017

Reminders:
Today: May 24, 2017
Brick Wall SIG Meeting
8:30 AM in the Atlanta Room in the Savannah Center
Today: May 24, 2017
General Monthly Meeting
10:00 AM in the Atlanta Room in the Savannah Center
Topic: Our guest speaker is Donna Bachowski "Forget Me Not: Preserving Legacies with EPOCH"

Gen News:

A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials:

Smithsonian
 "The Salem witch trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft—the Devil's magic—and 20 were executed."
Continue reading...

Homo Naledi’s Surprisingly Young Age Opens Up More Questions On Where We Come From:

Scienmag
"Johannesburg – Scientists today announced that the Rising Star Cave system has revealed yet more important discoveries, only a year and a half after it was announced that the richest fossil hominin site in Africa had been discovered, and that it contained a new hominin species named Homo naledi by the scientists who described it."
Continue reading...

Free Ancestry.com Databases:

Ancestry
Do you know that Ancestry.com has over 1800 free database collections?
The 1940 and 1880 censuses, SSID and the England & Wales, Civil Marriage Indexes to name a few.
See what's free...  Note: You need at least a free guest account to view this list...
What's a Guest account? Learn more HERE...

Tech:

How to Embed Web Videos, Music, Documents, and More in OneNote:

How-to-Geek
"OneNote is simple at first glance: it’s a place to write notes and maybe clip articles from the web for future reference. It’s an organizational tool, and a good one. But unlike other Office products, Microsoft offers OneNote for free and is constantly adding new updates."
Continue reading...

How to Automatically Free Up Disk Space with Windows 10’s Storage Sense:

How-to-Geek
"Windows 10’s Creators Update adds a handy little feature that automatically cleans out your temp files and stuff that’s been sitting in your Recycle Bin for more than a month. Here’s how to enable it."
Continue reading...

Latest Update: Family Tree Maker 2017

Software MacKiev: May 19, 2017
Continue reading...

Education:

Finding Unnamed Ancestors on the 1790-1840 Censuses:

Ancestral Findings
"The 1790-1840 census records only listed heads of household by name. However, that does not mean you can't put together a list of who was in the household. You just look at other clues like these."
Listen now... 6.28 minutes

Today's Webinar Reminder:

WikiTree: Free for All without a Free-for-All:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"This presentation gives a general overview and introduction to the free collaborative family tree site, WikiTree. It will cover the site's mission and Honor Code, privacy versus open collaboration, genetic genealogy features, cousin bait, becoming a part of the community, and the benefits of membership."
Today, May 24, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Eowyn Langholf
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

VGS Latest News & Tips: 7 February 2017

Reminders:
Tomorrow: February 8, 2017
Irish Genealogy SIG Meeting
10:00 AM in the Osceola Room at the Chula Vista Recreation Center
Topic: "The Valuation Revision Lists"

Gen News:

Ohio Boy Turns Found Fortune Into Act Of Kindness:

Patriotic Viral News
"With all the troubles in the country and around the world, for the violence and hatred, many people simply assume there is no longer any good people left in the world."
Continue reading...

Happy Anniversary, Massachusetts!

Ancestry
229 years ago Massachusetts became the 6th of the original 13 colonies to declare statehood.
Download the Massachusetts Research Guide...

New Ancestry Record Collections:

Ancestry
Prussian Provinces, Selected Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1661-1944
"Lutheran records of baptisms, marriages, and burials from the areas of Berlin, Brandenburg and other regions in former Prussia." TOTAL RECORDS: 2,416,716
View this collection...

East Flanders, Belgium, Civil Registration, 1541-1912
"This collection includes civil registrations of births, marriages, and deaths from East Flanders in Belgium." TOTAL RECORDS: 1,275,837
View this collection...

Delaware, Marriage Records, 1750-1954
"This collection consists of county marriage records from various counties in Delaware."TOTAL RECORDS: 649,981
View this collection...

Northern District, Illinois, Naturalization Index, 1926-1979
"This collection includes naturalization records from Illinois." TOTAL RECORDS: 550,931
View this collection...

Tech:

What Is a “Precision Touchpad” on Windows PCs?

How-to-Geek
"Windows PCs have historically had worse touchpads than Macs. Microsoft is trying to fix this problem with “precision touchpads”, but not every PC manufacturer is on board. Some PCs ship with precision touchpads, but others include older, traditional technology instead."
Continue reading...

How to Configure Your Pen and Its Buttons on Windows 10:

How-to-Geek
"Windows 10 gained a new pen settings panel with the Anniversary Update. If your device has a pen or another type of stylus, you can customize exactly how it works and what its buttons do from the Settings window."
Continue reading...

Education:

Irish Genealogy - Part 9 - Websites With Irish Records cont.

Finding Grandpa
"This is part 9 in a series of 9 videos called "Building the Bridge Back to Ireland". Using various websites to find documents that might show where in Ireland your ancestors are from, and where to look once you get "across the pond". Part 9 is the second half of Websites With Irish Records, where I discuss several different websites that might have records on your Irish Ancestors."
Continue reading...  22.33 minutes

FGS Conference Scholarships:All VGS members should have received an email about the 2017 FGS Conference and the scholarship registration information yesterday. If you didn't receive the information, request that it be re-sent.

Friday, October 16, 2015

VGS Latest News & Tips: 16 October 2015

Today: Friday, October 16, 2015
Scandinavian Genealogy SIG Meeting
10:00 AM in the Clearwater Room Sea Breeze Recreation Center

The Latest Edition of The VGS Newsletter has been Sent:
VGS members should have received a copy of the newsletter in their email in-box yesterday. If not, I would first check your spam folder. If you find it there, you should add the newsletter@vgsfl.org email address to your contact list to prevent this from happening to future emails. If you don't find it there, contact membership@vgsfl.org to verify we have your correct email address. You can also download a copy HERE.

The ISFHWE 2016 Excellence-in-Writing Competition is Now Open for Entries:
"The International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE) is reminding writers IN ALL MEDIA (magazines, newspapers, journals, websites, blogs) that the 2016 Excellence-in-Writing Competition is now open for entries through 15 June 2016. The competition is open to both MEMBERS and NON-MEMBERS of ISFHWE; both published and non-published authors may enter (see category list below). Members of ISFHWE receive a discount on the entry fee (after logging in to the ISFHWE members’ corner; new members allow up to ten days to receive login information). The categories are:
Continue reading...

Join Us For Find A Grave’s Community Day on October 17th!
Ancestry.com
"Thanks to you, our incredible volunteers, who visited over 100 cemeteries and contributed more than 250,000 photos on the days leading up to, and on, Find A Grave Community Day 2014. In hopes of beating the 2014 record, we are hosting this global meetup again on Saturday, October 17th to fulfill hundreds of thousands of photo requests still outstanding on Find A Grave."
Continue reading...

New Jersey Estate Records: What exactly are the Secretary of State Pre-1901 Estate files?
JerseyRoots
"For researchers, it is often a rare occurrence to “run” into appointed officials and actually begin to take a liking to them. In this case, I’m going on record and saying that Secretary of State Samuel D. Dickinson is fast becoming a favorite. He was appointed in 1902 and remained in office until 1912. During his tenure, I can credit his office with two accomplishments for which genealogists today are most thankful – the enumeration format for the 1905 State Census of New Jersey along with the conservation and arrangement of the pre-1901 estate files."
Continue reading...

Hundreds of Irish Famine Graves Discovered in Massachusetts:
OliveTreeGenealogy
"In an apparently empty field, covered by grass and just a few inches of soil that had accumulated over the years, lie approximately 600-900 gravestones marking the second resting place of bodies previously disinterred from the Irish Catholic Cemetery in Waltham, Massachusetts."
Continue reading...

This Day In History: October 16
1701: Yale University is founded as The Collegiate School of Kilingworth, Connecticut by Congregationalists who consider Harvard too liberal.
1846: Ether was first administered in public at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston by Dr. William Thomas Green Morton during an operation performed by Dr. John Collins Warren.
1859: Abolitionist John Brown, with 21 men, seizes the U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry, Va. U.S. Marines capture the raiders, killing several. John Brown is later hanged in Virginia for treason.
1758 Birthday: Noah Webster, U.S. teacher, lexicographer and publisher who wrote the American Dictionary of the English Language.