VGS News & Events: 15 April 2018 through 21 April 2018

The April 2018 Genetic Genealogy SIG Meeting

Coming Events:

Wednesday: April 18, 2018

Mid-Atlantic States SIG Meeting

9:30 AM in the Defender Room at the Lake Miona Recreation Center

Thursday: April 19, 2018

New England Genealogy SIG Meeting

11:00 AM in the New Smyrna Room at the Sea Breeze Recreation Center
Note the time change for this month's meeting.

Friday: April 20, 2018

Scandinavian Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

Gen News and Announcements:

Surnames: Different countries, different traditions

MyHeritage
"Surnames originate from the relatively “recent” medieval custom of bynames, or names given to differentiate people.
There were four different types of bynames typically given:"
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Rare British Surnames On The Cusp Of Extinction:

MyHeritage
"Do you have a rare surname? Could your family be amongst the final bearers of near extinct British surnames? If your surname is Miracle, Villan, Relish or Tumbler for example, then you’re a dying breed in Britain. If your surname is Bread or Spinster…then we will be surprised as you’re presumed extinct! Read more to find out!"
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5 Common Irish Genealogy Brick Walls and How to Overcome Them:

FindMyPast
"If you've made any progress in tracing your Irish ancestors, there are certain road bumps you've undoubtedly met on your journey. Let's take a look at the most common issues to and help you get past them."
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7 Tips to Help You Find Your American Ancestors in PERSI:

FindMyPast
"The Periodical Source Index, otherwise known as PERSI, is an amazing resource for genealogy research. If you're facing a brick wall, PERSI may be just the thing to overcome it."
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Timeless: Benjamin Franklin’s Connection to the Salem Witch Trials:

Ancestry
"When I think about Benjamin Franklin I think about bifocals, kites and lightening, his ambassadorship to France, and the fact that he was the oldest person to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776.  I most certainly don’t think about the Salem Witch Trials.  After all the witchcraft frenzy that gripped Salem Village happened almost 85 years before the American Revolution."
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New Records on FamilySearch: Week of April 9, 2018

FamilySearch
"New archived records from around the world are published on FamilySearch every week to help you find your ancestors. This week, over 2.5 million new church and civil records are available from Brittany, France and more from Peru, Ecuador, Sweden, Germany, Chile, the Netherlands, and Ukraine."
Search now...

5 Hidden Clues in the US Census:

Amy Johnson Crow
"The US census forms the basis of much of our family history research. It is often among the first things we search for when trying to answer a genealogical question. However, there are clues that are often missed. Let's take a look at 5 hidden clues in the US census."
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Are You Using the Right Search to Find Your Ancestors?

Amy Johnson Crow
"A search box is a search box, right? Actually, not so much. Not all searches act the same way. Understanding the differences in them can help you find more ancestors as well as discover more resources to use in your genealogy research. Let's take a look."
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Is My Surname Jewish?

ThoughtCo
"Many of the names that people think "sound" Jewish are, in fact, simple German, Russian or Polish surnames. The point? You generally can't identify Jewish ancestry by a surname alone. Actually, there are really only three surnames (and their variations) that are generally specifically Jewish in nature: Cohen, Levy and Israel. Yet, even variations of these common Jewish-specific surnames may not be Jewish."
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Technology:

Stop Facebook’s ‘On This Day’ From Dredging Up Painful Memories:

How-to-Geek
"Facebook’s “On This Day” is mostly harmless nostalgia, but every once and a while it dredges up painful memories. You can stop this by manually excluding certain dates and people."
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Education:

Using Local Historical and Genealogical Societies to Further Your Genealogy Research:

Ancestral Findings
"What types of things will you find at local historical and genealogical societies? It varies, of course, but you may find valuable research resources.  Let's explore these resources together on today's episode of the Ancestral Findings Podcast."
Listen now...  7.30 minutes

Webinars:

Better Together: Making Your Case with Documents and DNA

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"The genealogical proof standard requires reasonably exhaustive research in solving ancestral-identity problems. DNA evidence is now often part of that research. Even the best DNA evidence must be combined with some traditional research. This webinar will show different ways that genealogical problems have been solved by integrating DNA evidence with the paper trail."
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at 8:00 p.m.
Presenter: Patti Lee Hobbs, CG
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Lincoln's Laws and the Records of War:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"President Lincoln's General Order 100 - "Instructions for the Government of Armies ... in the Field" - revolutionized the laws of war and created new records for genealogists to research."
Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

VGS Latest News & Tips: 1 March 2016

Tomorrow: Wednesday: March 2, 2016

French Canadian Genealogy SIG Meeting:

9:00 AM in the Julio Iglesias Room at the La Hacienda Recreation Center

5 Tips for Getting the Most from City Directories:
Ancestry
"City directories are useful for the year-by-year portrait they can paint of our ancestors. They document their moves, changes in occupation, and may note the widowed status of a wife who has recently lost her husband. All of this information can be obtained by simply looking up an ancestor’s name. But consider the other types of information..."
Continue reading...

Genealogy Research Trip to Dublin, Ireland:
Donna Moughty Announcement
"The trip includes 7 nights accommodations (including breakfasrt) at Buswell's Hotel, two hours of pre-trip concultation, orientation and assistance at the research facilities, two dinners and admission to the Back to Our Past Conference."
Download event flyer...

Getting Real with Naming Patterns:
Legacy Family Tree
"I've been following some online genealogy discussions recently and noticed that we genealogists often answer questions with an emphatic point of view. Very often the answer is an extreme leaning one way or the other, with no middle ground or room for a “perhaps…”
Continue reading...

Quickly Type Numbers and Symbols on the iPhone with This Shortcut:
How-to-Geek
"Normally, the default iOS keyboard presents you with the alphabet. When you want to access the numbers, you just tap the “123” key, and then the numbers and symbols will appear. In order to revert to the letters, you have to then press the “ABC” key. There’s a faster way to type numbers, though."
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This Day In History: 1 March
1642: York, Maine becomes the first incorporated American city.
1692: Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are arrested for the supposed practice of witchcraft in Salem, Mass.
1932: The Lindbergh baby is kidnapped from the Lindbergh home near Princeton, New Jersey.
1904 Birthday: Glenn Miller, big band leader during the 1930s and ’40s.

VGS Latest News & Tips: 25 September, 2015

Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra 5/12/1925 - 9/22/2015
The National Archives
"In memory of baseball icon Yogi Berra, our colleagues at the National Archives-St. Louis have shared his World War II and post-World War II-era selective service registration cards (DSS Form 1 and SSS Form 1). The registration cards were created to identify registrants, and to document the order registrants would be called to military service. Yogi’s WWII-era registration show that he was playing for the Norfolk Tars, a farm team for the New York Yankees, and his post-war registration card shows that he had made the big leagues and was playing for the Yankees. His post-war registration also shows his prior WWII service, as Yogi had served in the Navy from 9/30/1943-5/7/1946."
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How to Use CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs on a Computer Without a Disc Drive:
How-to-Geek
"Physical disc drives are going the way of the dodo. Modern laptops — and even many modern desktop PCs — are dropping disc drives. If you still have discs with software, music, videos, or anything else on them, there are still ways to use them."
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National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair
October 21 & 22, 2015
"Please join the National Archives for the 2015 Virtual Genealogy Fair on October 21 & 22. This will be a live broadcast via YouTube so you can ask our genealogy experts questions at the end of their talks."
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Do DNA Tests Really Prove President Harding Fathered Illegitimate Child?
NewAmerican
"In mid-August, the media gleefully reported that DNA testing confirmed that conservative Republican President Warren Harding fathered an illegitimate child, a girl whom he didn't acknowledge while he was alive. Testing of a known descendant of Nan Britton, who claimed Harding fathered a child with her, and the descendants of known relatives of the former president “proved” that Harding fathered a child by Britton, about 30 years his junior. Or maybe not."
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How Given Names Can Help You Identify Your Ancestor:
AncestralFindings.com video 6.24 minutes
"Did you know first names can be big clues in your genealogy research? Here’s how they can be helpful, as well as an example of how to use them in your research."
Watch video...

This Day In History: September 25
1775: British troops capture Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga, when he and a handful of Americans try to invade Canada.
1789: Congress proposes 12 new amendments to the Constitution.
1804: The 12th Amendment is ratified, changing the procedure of choosing the president and vice-president.
1931 Birthday: Barbara Walters, television news personality and interviewer.

VGS Latest New & Tips: 3 September 2015

Today: Thursday, September 3, 2015

Eastern European Genealogy SIG Meeting:

1:00 PM in the Triple Crown Room at Churchill Recreation Center.

7 Strangely Popular Interests of Your Victorian Ancestors:

Crestleaf

"Your 19th Century Ancestors Were into Some Seriously Weird Stuff...

Back in the 19th century before modern technology took over the entertainment scene, our ancestors were forced to figure out how to alleviate their boredom. And sometimes, reading a book or story telling just didn’t cut it."

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Discover the Meaning and History Behind Your Last Name:
Ancestry.com
"Our last name gives you a sense of identity and helps you discover who you are and where you come from. Enter your last name to learn its meaning and origin."
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50 tragic portraits Irish Famine victims in the poorhouses of New York:

Irish Central

"On 4th August 1865, an Irish emigrant woman from Cork City gave birth to a baby girl in New York. The child -Mary- had been dealt a tough start to life. Her mother was a pauper, and Mary had entered the world in Richmond County Poor House. Mary’s brother and sister were also paupers, and her mother was described as ‘intemperate’- there were no details regarding her father."

Continue reading...

The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke:
Episode 183
"In this episode, a special expert joins us to talk about digitizing and storing your old movies, videos, and pictures—even further updating those old movies you’ve already put on CD. You’ll hear a juicy clip from our exclusive Genealogy Gems Book Club interview with the editor of the new Laura Ingalls Wilder biography, Pioneer Girl. And Your DNA Guide is here with a story of DNA and the President."
Continue reading or listen to the podcast...

This Day In History: September 3
1777: The American flag (stars & stripes), approved by Congress on June 14th, is carried into battle for the first time by a force under General William Maxwell.
1783: The Treaty of Paris is signed by Great Britain and the new United States, formally bringing the American Revolution to an end.
1895: The first professional American football game is played in Latrobe, Pennsylvania between the Latrobe Young Men’s Christian Association and the Jeannette Athletic Club. Latrobe wins 12-0.
1875 Birthday: Ferdinand Porsche, automotive engineer, designer of the Volkswagen in 1934 and the Porsche sports car in 1950.