VGS News & Events: 17 November through 23 November, 2019

Coming Events:

Monday: November 18, 2019

Italian Genealogy SIG Meeting

1:00 PM in the Atlanta Room in the Savannah Center

Tuesday: November 19, 2019

Family Tree Maker Users SIG Meeting

1:00 PM in the Patriot Room at the Mulberry Grove Recreation Center
Topic: "I'm afraid to Upgrade!" + Your Questions Answered"

Wednesday: November 20, 2019

Brick Wall SIG Meeting

8:30 AM in the Atlanta Room in the Savannah Center

Wednesday: November 20, 2019

General Monthly Meeting

10:00 AM in the Atlanta Room in the Savannah Center

Topic: "Can a Complex Research Problem be Solved Solely Online?"

Wednesday: November 20, 2019

Afternoon Workshop

1:30 PM in the Atlanta Room in the Savannah Center
Topic: "Inferential Genealogy: Deducing Ancestors' Identities Indirectly"

Limited to 100 Members...
Register to attend this workshop in-person HERE...

Thursday: April 18, 2019

New England Genealogy SIG Meeting

Noon in the New Smyrna Room at the Sea Breeze Recreation Center

Our Live Monday Meeting on November 11 was a success.  The handout and video can be found online under "Members Only" > "Webinars & Meetings"

FSGS Fall Virtual Conference:

MASTER DNA-BASED DISCOVERY
BREAK DOWN BRICK WALLS
A one-of-a-kind opportunity! Learn from 5 top experts!
Join the Florida State Genealogical Society's Fall Virtual DNA Conference and advance your genealogy research skills without having to leave home.
All you need is an Internet connection and curiosity.
Ask the experts and put genetic genealogy to work for you!

December 7, 2019 - 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 
Learn more...

Gen News and Announcements:

Register for Our Annual Seminar:

VGS

Blaine Bettinger, Ph.D., J.D., is a professional genealogist specializing in DNA evidence. He is the author of the long-running blog The Genetic Genealogist, and frequently gives presentations and webinars to educate others about the use of DNA to explore their ancestry.  He will be our guest speaker for our Annual Seminar on February 19, 2020.

Download more details here...

Your Privacy is our Top Priority:

Ancestry
"Your privacy is important to us. That’s why we want to share our position on a recent event where a Florida judge issued a search warrant to allow law enforcement to search all of GEDmatch, an open data personal genomics database."
Continue reading...

Powered By Cutting-Edge Machine Learning Technology, Ancestry® Debuts the World’s Largest, Searchable Online Obituary Collection, Providing Members with Even More Details about the Ancestors Who Shaped Their Past:

Ancestry
"We are proud to announce the launch of our new Newspapers.com Obituary Collection, as well as an upgrade to our U.S. Obituary Collection, adding to what is now the world’s largest, searchable digital archive of over 262 million worldwide obituaries and death announcements, containing almost 1 billion searchable family members."
Continue reading...

Navigating Newspaper Research:

Legacy News
"You know newspaper research is important to your family history. It can uncover everything from vital record information to the casual mention of your ancestor's daily life. So go research newspapers! But, is it really that easy?"
Continue reading...

Correct Mistakes on the FamilySearch Family Tree:

FamilySearch
"Our goal at FamilySearch is not only to connect individual families, but to connect the human family. In order to accomplish that goal, we need everyone’s help. For this reason, FamilySearch Family Tree is a shared tree, which means that it is open for users to contribute what information they have."
Continue reading...

Don't Toss Old Photos:

We Have Kids
"All too often, the descendants just toss out those pictures that are unlabeled. That's really sad to see family history dumped in the trash. Don't let that happen in your family. Label your own photos.
Now, if these are inherited photos and not labeled, you have a bit of work ahead. Whatever you do, don't toss those photos."
Continue reading...

Technology:

Is Your Old Router Still Getting Security Updates? 

How-To Geek
"Security researchers from Fortinet recently discovered security holes in some D-Link routers. Many of these routers are still sold online, but D-Link no longer manufactures them and won’t patch them. So how do you tell if your router is still supported?"
Continue reading...

Education:

Resource Guide to Canadian Genealogy:

AncestralFindings
"Do you have Canadian ancestors you wish to research? Are you wondering where to start? On today’s episode, I’ll give you five of my favorite websites for doing Canadian genealogy online."
Listen Now... 8.25 minutes 

Webinars:

A la Karte: Borders, Maps and Gazetteers for German Genealogists

Legacy Family Tree
"The borders of German-speaking lands in Europe followed a non-linear pattern that is at first difficult to unpack. Learn about the gamut of on- and off-line tools to overcome this difficulty."
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern
Presenter: James M. Beidler
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

No Will? No Problem!

Legacy Family Tree
"Anything handled by a court of law is lengthy, and that is good for genealogical research. Documents containing information about a death date, relationships, personal and/or real property, and place of residence are common in intestate files. Learn about the court process from first petition to final discharge, and picture what home was like for an ancestor."
Friday, November 22, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern
Presenter: Sharon Monson
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

VGS News & Events: 1 July 2018 through 7 July 2018

Coming Events:

Monday: July 3, 2017
Adoption & Missing Kin SIG Meeting:

9:00 AM at the Lake Miona Recreation Center

Thursday: July 5, 2017

Eastern European Genealogy SIG Meeting:

1:00 PM in the Daytona Room at the Sea Breeze Recreation Center

A Look Into The Future:

Wednesday, August 22

VGS General Monthly Meeting

10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Savannah Regional Recreation Center

"Let's Talk Genealogy"  How many times do you just get to sit down and talk genealogy with people whose eyes don’t glaze over? “Let’s Talk Genealogy” is your opportunity! Our meeting room will be set up for small groups to talk about genealogical frustrations and successes, interesting research techniques, record collections, and repositories, and anything else you’d like to share with other folks who love genealogy. Bring notes on a problem or success story, a book you’ve found particularly helpful, a photograph you’re investigating—whatever you’d like to discuss with fellow VGS members. Spend some time making new genealogy friends and celebrating our love for family history research.

Wednesday, October 24

Fall Virtual Seminar On Immigration Records

9:00 am to 3:30 pm

Online Virtual Conference

This all-day seminar is offered free to our members as part of our celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Villages Genealogical Society.

PLEASE NOTE: There will be no in-person meeting this month. We will attend the presentations via our own computers or devices at whatever location is convenient for us. (That doesn’t mean you can’t get together with other genealogy buddies for a watch party at somebody’s house, though!)

You MUST register for the presentations in order to get the link to join the seminar on the 24th. Registration link will be available soon.

More details on our website under "Coming Events"...

Gen News and Announcements:

Ancestry Product Update: Conduct Search Utilizing the information on another Member’s Tree: 

Ancestry
"Customers have been able to conducted a search for a person within their own tree utilizing the information in their timeline. Now we have made it possible for customers to conduct a targeted search from a person in a Public Member Tree."
Continue reading...

Reclaim the Records: Getting Access to Public Records:

Amy Johnson Crow
"Most archivists and government clerks are quite helpful in maintaining public records and giving us access. However, there are some instances where the records custodian isn't fulfilling records requests as required by law. That's why there's a group called Reclaim the Records."
Continue reading...

Dateline: Father’s Day – The Unexpected Gift

DNAeXplained
"On Father’s Day, NBC’s Dateline aired a full segment about what happened to one family as a result of DNA testing. And it’s not at all what they expected.
A woman tested her DNA, but the family she found was not the family she was looking for.
“I knew everybody, right???”
Continue reading...

How to Find a Cause of Death When You Don’t Have a Death Certificate for Your Ancestor:

Family History Daily
"Genealogy research often has a domino effect. Locating one new piece of information can open new paths to explore and can knock down brick walls you have been pounding on for years. In this article I will discuss how a person’s date of death and/or last known location can help you reveal the cause when you don't have a death certificate."
Continue reading...

Digitizing Family Photos and Records: What’s the Best Format to Use?

Family History Daily
"From official documents and family snapshots to handwritten letters and more – incorporating scanned images and documents into your genealogy research can be rewarding on many levels. However, the process of digitizing them can often be difficult."
Continue reading...

Records Where You Least Expect Them:

Donna Moughty
"About a month ago, I contacted a woman who had a DNA match to my husband, Brian (he gets all the matches…me, not so much).  This individual showed up as a 4th cousin and I recognized the surname but there was no family tree to put her in context.  I wrote to her, asking where she fit in.  Turns out, I had her parents in my tree and she pointed me to an aunt who was doing family research."
Continue reading...

DNA And Privacy: No Man Is A Genetic Island

Lisa Louise Cooke

"The recent identification of the Golden State Killer through a DNA database for genealogy is just one way your DNA may be used in unexpected ways. Lisa Louise Cooke shares 5 key principles to keep in mind when considering your online DNA presence."

Continue reading...

Technology:

How to Use Windows 10’s Hidden Video Editor:

How-to-Geek
"Windows 10 has a hidden video editor that works a bit like Windows Movie Maker or Apple iMovie. You can use it to trim videos or create your own home movies and slideshows. You can even have it create videos automatically."
Continue reading...

Education:

Tricks for Finding the Unknown Burial Location of an Ancestor:

Ancestral Findings
"Are you searching for the burial location of an ancestor and can't seem to find it? Join me on the Ancestral Findings Podcast and I’ll show you three tried and true techniques for tracking it down."
Listen now...   5.31 minutes

Webinars:

Legacy 9 Unlocked (part 4): Adding Estate/Probate Records

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"In this class, “Adding Estate/Probate Records,” you will learn the six steps of adding estate/probate records to Legacy.?
Friday, July 6, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Geoff Rasmussen
Learn more or Register for this webinar...
Note: The concepts learned will apply to any genealogy software.

VGS Latest News & Tips: 8 March 2017

Crista Cowan (Left) presenting a door prize during her 2014 visit.

Reminders:
Today: March 8, 2017

Irish Genealogy SIG Meeting

10:00 AM in the Osceola Room at the Chula Vista Recreation Center

Tomorrow: March 9, 2017

German Genealogy SIG Meeting

9:30 AM in the Reliance Room at the Late Miona Recreation Center

Topic: Margaret Sgritta will present: "Calvinists"

Tomorrow: March 9, 2017

Crista Cowan & Ancestry.com Return to The Villages

3 Sessions during the Day: Did you register to attend?

Gen News:

California Supreme Court Rules That There is No Such Thing as Private Communications for Government Officials:

PrivacyBlog
"The public has a right to access emails and text messages about government business on the private phones and accounts of state and local officials and employees, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday."
Continue reading...

Researching Foreign-Language Records:

Ancestry
"Links to resources for doing research in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish."
Continue reading...

Sharing a Family Tree:

Ancestry
"In order to view a family tree that's been shared with them, your friends and family will need an Ancestry account. They can create an account for free by following the link in your invitation email."
Continue reading...

Tech:

How to Back Up Your Mac and Restore Files With Time Machine:

How-to-Geek
"Regular backups are essential. Windows has integrated backup tools, Ubuntu has Déjà Dup, and Mac OS X has Time Machine. Time Machine backs up everything on your Mac, from system files to your personal files."
Continue reading...

How to Verify That Your Mac’s Time Machine Backups Are Working Properly:

How-to-Geek
"You regularly back up your Mac with Time Machine, but how do you know that it’s working?"
Continue reading...

Education:

The Cousin Connection: Explaining the Various Levels of Cousins:

Ancestral Findings
"Have you ever wondered what a 2nd cousin three times removed is? What does "removed" even mean in genealogy? Here's how to figure out your cousin relationships."
Listen now... 6.43 minutes

VGS Latest News & Tips: 22 December 2016

Our Annual All-Day Seminar is Sold Out!

Wow! Our annual seminar in February is sold out!!!  This is by far the quickest we have sold all available tickets.  We currently are accepting a limited number of waiting list registrations and there are some names already on that list. For more information about the seminar or the waiting list, contact the seminar registrar HERE

A Guide To Manchester & Lancashire Genealogical Research:

Family Tree Tips
"A lot of my personal research has been around the Manchester and Lancashire area. So I’ve used a lot of sources in my research, these “Extra” resources used along with the usual suspects (Ancestry, FamilySearch etc.) can yield some very colourful results."
Continue reading...

Help Make the FamilySearch Blog Better:

FamilySearch
"To make it easier for you to find these resources, we are reorganizing and simplifying our blog categories. Can you help us?"
Continue reading... 

New Historic Records On FamilySearch: Week of December 12, 2016:

FamilySearch
"Major additions have been made to record collections in Ireland as well as the Find A Grave index. New indexed records were also added to the Freedmen's Bureau collection."
Continue reading... 

How to Replace 5 Major Yahoo Services and then Delete your Yahoo Account:

Privacy Blog
"This is a follow-up to yesterday’s article of Hackers Breach a Billion Yahoo Accounts at https://goo.gl/BgVMPZ. If you have had enough with Yahoo’s multiple security problems, you might want to take action now. Ian Paul has written a guide to replacing Yahoo’s major services with alternative options, then deleting your Yahoo account."
Continue reading...

How to See Other Devices Logged in to Your Google Account:

How-to-Geek
"Feel like you forgot to log out of Gmail on your friend’s computer? Google makes it easy to see all the devices—laptop, phone, tablet, and otherwise—logged into your Google account. You can view both a list of IP addresses that have accessed it, and a list of devices that have actively used your account in the last 28 days."
Continue reading...

This Day In History: 22 December

1807: Congress passes the Embargo Act, which halts all trading completely. It is hoped that the act will keep the United States out of the European Wars.
1829: The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad opens the first passenger railway line.
1918: The last of the food restrictions, enforced because of the shortages during World War I, are lifted.
1921 Birthday: Hawkshaw Hawkins (Harold Hawkins), country singer; he died along with country stars Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas when the small plane that was carrying them crashed in 1963.

State Timelines:

Even though it is hard to tell what made people move or disappear, these are just a few possibilities.
Missouri:
1860: Pony Express began in St. Joseph
1874: Eads Bridge across the Mississippi River at St. Louis opened
1904: St. Louis hosted World's Fair & first Olympic games

VGS Latest News & Tips: 18 January 2016

Tomorrow: Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Italian Genealogy SIG Meeting

1:00 PM in the Atlanta Room in the Savannah Center

A Word About the Privacy of Your Genealogy Information:
Dick Eastman: egon.com
"I am relatively new to genealogy technology. Are there tips you can provide to ensure the security of personal information?"
Continue reading...

Experience Living History: Lizzy Jane 
Sumter County Library
"Dee Collier will portray Lizzy Jane. This character is a compilation of women living in the late 1800's in Marion County following the second Seminole War. She exemplifies the pioneer spirit prevalent at this time with the cow hunters, the town's people during the fire of 1883, and those who faced economic boom and bust, just as well as everyday life."

Belvedere Library
2:00 p.m. - Tuesday, January 19
Register here

Pinellas Plaza Library
3:30 p.m. - Thursday, January 21
Register here

How to Denote Dates to Avoid Confusion:
Cousin Detective
" In Europe and other places in the world they write the day first, then the month, so 3/7/50 would be 3 July 1850 if it was written in, say, Germany (where he lived).   Ahhhhhh, all those other wrong dates that said July now make total sense."
Continue reading...

DNA Sequencing Company Wants to Develop a Cancer Blood Test:
Time Health
"One of the early pioneers in mapping our DNA is hoping to turn its genetic know-how into the first blood test for picking up early signs of cancer.
Illumina, which dominates the DNA sequencing world, is dipping a very big toe into cancer testing.
Continue reading...

Tips for Finding and Visiting Your Ancestors in the Cemetery:
Ancestry
"Information on tombstones can include maiden names, birth and death dates, relationships, towns of origin, military service, and religious affiliation—all of which can lead breakthroughs in your research. Be sure to check with the cemetery office to see if other family members are in the plot who are not listed on the tombstone, or are perhaps in a grave nearby. The cemetery office often has additional details not found on the tombstone."
Download cemetery guide... 3 page .pdf file

Today In History: 18 January
1778: Captain James Cook discovers the Hawaiian Islands, naming them the ‘Sandwich Islands’ after the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Sandwich.
1836: Jim Bowie arrives at the Alamo to assist its Texas defenders.
1910: Aviator Eugene Ely performs his first successful take off and landing from a ship in San Francisco.
1782 Birthday: Daniel Webster, congressman from New Hampshire, Massachusetts senator, and secretary of state before the Civil War.

VGS Latest News & Tips: 24 November 2015

American Canyon Mayor Plants Seed, Hopes to Grow Oral History of Military Service:
Times-Herald News
"AMERICAN CANYON >> How many war stories are there in this city?
Mayor Leon Garcia, for one, said he thinks there are likely many hundreds, and that it would be a shame if they were lost. He proposes a project chronicling the military service of residents and their families — an ongoing oral history on the order of Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Project."
Continue reading...

Stop ‘Saving’ Records to Your Ancestry Tree Until You Read This:
FamilyHistoryDaily
"It’s no secret that we love free genealogy sites here at Family History Daily. But, we have to admit, we also really like Ancestry.com. Next to FamilySearch.org, you’re not going to find a larger, more diverse genealogy website — and many of us are willing to pay their subscription fees for that reason alone.
But we also like Ancestry for the convenient free family tree they offer. It’s easy to get started with, maintain and share (or keep private). Plus, they’ve made it extremely convenient to add records from Ancestry’s databases. A couple of clicks and you can easily attach any number of sources, or names, to your tree (although we could tell you why that’s generally a bad idea)."
Continue reading...

Privacy and your life online -- A Genealogist's Viewpoint:
Genealogy's Star Blog
"Let me start this particular version of my views on privacy with a hypothetical situation. Let's suppose that you want total privacy. That is, you do not want anyone to know anything about you that you have not expressly given them permission to know. What are some of the things that you cannot do?"
Continue reading...

Save Family Photos in Archival Albums, Digital Files:
hometownlife
"Thanksgiving Day is the perfect time to reminisce over photo albums, slides and videos — and to assess the wear and tear of those family artifacts.
Disappearing color on old photos is just one of the problems do-it-yourself family historians face as they preserve treasured mementos."
Continue reading...

Tech Today - Why Are More Hard Drive Crashes Happening? 
about tech
"It’s easily one of the most frustrating experiences you can have with a computer. If your PC can’t read the data on its hard drive, it’s pretty much useless. Though many computers were originally designed to operate for a few hours at a time, they’ve become increasingly vital in our daily lives. But have we set them up to fail?"
Continue reading...

This Day In History: November 24
1859: Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. The first printing of 1,250 copies sells out in a single day.
1864: Kit Carson and his 1st Cavalry, New Mexico Volunteers, attack a camp of Kiowa Indians in the First Battle of Adobe Walls.
1902: The first Congress of Professional Photographers convenes in Paris.
1784 Birthday: Zachary Taylor, general during the Mexican War, 12th President of the United States.