VGS News & Events: 13 August 2017 - 19 August 2017

Reminder:

Monday: August 14, 2017

Family Tree Maker Users SIG Meeting

1:00 PM in the Patriot Room at the Mulberry Grove Recreation Center

Gen News & Announcements:

IGGP Conference Report—July 2017:

Bernie Guenther - German SIG Coordinator

The first International German Genealogical Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 28-30, was a stupendous success, with more the 700 attendees from the USA and several other countries.  For me personally it was a special treat to meet and socialize with representatives from Germany, Brazil and Australia, where I have several first cousins.  There were six of us Villagers in attendance.  Running over three days, it featured 70 seminars.  With sometimes five in each time slot, the choices were difficult, but with my daughter joining me from Michigan, we were able to take in just about every one that was important to us.

The Marriott Hotel at Brooklyn Park was an excellent venue with spacious suites, seminar rooms, and ample space for vendors. A hospitality suite was also available, giving me the opportunity to deepen my connections with other leaders.

I came away with these overwhelming impressions:

1. The intellect and dedication of all those working in genealogy, especially those affiliated with the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. There were 11 presentations given by such renowned researchers as Dr. Fritz Juengling, Dr. Roger Minert, Baerbel Johnson and Nathan Machula. They constantly bring new resources to light.  For example, Dr Minert’s recently published book, German Census Records 1816-1916, reveals the existence of census records in every German state of that era, hidden under misleading headings such as “Population” or “House Lists.” Not even German genealogists knew they existed. He’s now working on a book about German Residential Registrations that were required in nearly every state.

We were also introduced to an amazing lady, Mary Rainey, by Dr. Juengling. Without knowing German, together with a young computer whiz, Brad Coleman, she brought the early well-known 20th Century gazeteer, Meyer’s Orts, into the 21st Century by providing a map link and some translations that save researchers much time.  Most amazingly of all, this will be available to the public, for free, forever. 

2. The stampeding advance of genealogical sources in Germany, e.g. Archion, the online website for Protestant Church Records, is adding new parishes constantly. One can search for free if a parish is available, but must pay to actually look that record up.  Another source is genealogy.net, or Verein für Computergenealogie (Society for Computer Genealogy) which is always adding new services and sources, which are free to access. It is also Germany’s largest genealogical society with more than 2,500 members.

3. The superb organization and implementation by the host society, Germanic Genealogy Society of Minnesota. Despite the fact that this was a first ever conference, it went off without a hitch, actually turning a profit, 25% of which will be turned over for the next conference that has already been announced for Sacramento, California in July 2019. The Californians will have a hard act to follow.

4. Last, but not least, was an amazing spirit personified by the enthusiastic worldwide ambassador for German genealogy, Dirk Weissleder, the leader of the German umbrella group of 64 different genealogical societies, who is currently on an around the world promotional trip. There is definitely a rekindling of pride in German heritage and ancestry, something that had been perverted by the Nazi nightmare. 

a. In fact, within the genealogical community there has been talk of this effort serving as a template for other ethnic groups, think Italian and Polish, which have also had significant immigrants to various countries of the world.

Were Your Ancestors American Pioneers? Here’s How to Track Them Down Online:

Family History Daily
"If you’re wondering where to start, what to search, or how to separate fact from fiction – here are some basic facts and solid sources to help you on the way to success."
Continue reading...

50 Free Genealogy Sites to Search Today:

Family History Daily
"Looking for a list of free genealogy sites to search? Here are 50 no-cost family history resources where you will find birth, marriage and death records, obituaries, cemetery listings, newspaper articles, biographies, research tips and so much more."
Continue reading...

5 Common Genealogy Research Questions and Answers for Beginners:

Crestleaf
"Are you new to genealogy? If so, then you probably have a lot of genealogy research questions!

• What is the difference between genealogy and family history?
• What is the name of my ancestor in this old photo?
• Where can I find the best family tree software?

These questions and others will certainly arise as you begin to research your family’s history."
Continue reading...

You Got Your DNA Results. Now You Need To Know What They Mean:

Are You My Cousin
"I cannot stress this enough.  Traditional paper genealogy and DNA testing work together to solve genealogy mysteries."
Continue reading...

Criminal and Prison Records from Chester County, Pennsylvania:

Ancestry
"Does your family tree have roots in colonial Pennsylvania? If it does, you may want to check out an index of Chester County criminal and prison records that Ancestry recently acquired. The collection includes five databases of records that have long been available on Chester County’s website. Some records date back to 1681, one year prior to Chester County’s founding by William Penn."
Continue reading...

6 Tips for a Successful Family History Road Trip:

Ancestry
"As summer winds down, many of us will be hitting the road for one last trip. For some, the family vacation will also include some family history research. Here are some tips to help you make the most of it."
Continue reading...

Tech:

10 Free Genealogy Apps to Help You With Your Research:

Family History Daily
"Whether you want untethered access to resources while you’re conducting in-person research, when you’re sorting through hard copies of documents in an archive, or you simply want to use the time you’re waiting in line for coffee to keep looking for your ancestors these 10 genealogy apps are a great choice."
Continue reading...

Education:

Remembering Pets in Your Family History:

Ancestral Findings
"People have been living with pets for a long time, and they deserve to be included in your family history narrative. On today’s episode, I'll show how to do it."
Listen now... 4.31 minutes

Upcoming Webinars:

Analyzing Probate Records of Slaveholders to Identify Enslaved Ancestors:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"This webinar will provide an overview of the probate process, the genealogical information that can be found in a slaveholding estate, and related records that a probate proceeding may point to."
Tuesday, August 15, 2017 at 8:00 p.m.
Presenter: LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Finding Your Ancestors in German Directories:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"In Germany, more and more directories are online. This presentation will tell you where to find them, how to work with them and how to interpret the information typical for German directories."
Wednesday, August 16, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Luana Darby
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

VGS Reminders: 3 - 7 July 2017

Reminder:

Thursday: July 6, 2017

Eastern European Genealogy SIG Meeting:

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

Gen News:

Finding Your Italian Origins: Tips From Mary Tedesco of Genealogy Roadshow:

Amy Johnson Crow
"Finding Italian ancestors is a lot easier when you know where in Italy they came from. Mary Tedesco, founder of Origins Italy and co-host of "Genealogy Roadshow," shared her favorite places to start to identify Italian roots."
Continue reading...

It’s Here! RootsMagic releases Ancestry Features...

RootsMagic
"Last year, we announced we were working with Ancestry® to integrate Ancestry Hints® and Ancestry’s records and online trees with our software. After months of development and the feedback of thousands of testers, we’re pleased to announce the release of RootsMagic 7.5, a free update to RootsMagic 7 that adds two amazing new features: TreeShare™ for Ancestry and the addition of Ancestry Hints to RootsMagic’s WebHints™ feature."
Continue reading...
There is also a very good video demonstrating the new features. You can view it HERE.
Editor's Note: I ran several tests on Friday and it worked perfectly.

Did You Know???

Look to the Past
"On many old tombstones you will find the wording, "Jane Doe, consort of John Doe." This indicates that John was still alive at the time Jane died. If the stone reads "Jane Doe, relict of John Doe," this indicates that Jane's husband was already deceased at the time she died."
Learn the meaning of headstone carvings.
Continue reading...

Citrus County Genealogical Society Meeting Announcement:

The Citrus County Genealogical Society meeting will be held July 11 at 10:00 AM at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3474 W. Southern St., Lecanto. President, Mary Ann Machonkin, will give an “Overview of the Genealogy Collection at the Lakes Region Library.” Books tend to be an underutilized resource in genealogy, but not everything is online. There are books with vital records that are not easily accessible anywhere else. There are “how to” books on genealogy and books to aid in ethic research.
Guests are welcome to attend. For information go to www.citrusgenealogy.com or call Mary Ann Machonkin at 382-5515.

Tech:

How to Call and Message Friends Using Your Amazon Echo:

How-to-Geek
"Amazon released a big new feature for its Echo devices, giving users the ability to call and message each other using their Echos or the Alexa app. Here’s how it works and how to set it up."
Continue reading...

How to Check if Your HP Laptop Has the Conexant Keylogger:

How-to-Geek
"Many HP laptops released in 2015 and 2016 have a major problem. The audio driver provided by Conexant has debugging code enabled, and it either logs all your keystrokes to a file or prints them to the system debug log, where malware could snoop on them without looking too suspicious. Here’s how to check if your PC is affected."
Continue reading...

Education:

What’s the Deal With DNA? Using DNA to Trace Your Family History:

Ancestral Findings
"Have you considered using DNA to help trace your family tree? If not, you should. DNA can unlock long standing genealogical mysteries. Here's how it works."
Listen now...  6.42 minutes

Webinars:

Censational Census Strategies:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"The US Federal census and its “little brother,” the state census, are among the major workhorses of genealogical research. But are you getting the most out of them? This presentation presents 20+ tips for finding missing ancestors and mining the census for more clues for follow-up research."
Wednesday, July 5, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Mary Kircher Roddy
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

VGS Latest News & Tips: 17 March 2017

Reminder:
Today: March 17, 2017

Scandinavian Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

Topic: "Research Your Swedish Heritage using ArkivDigital"

Gen News:

Origin of “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” Saying:

Ancestry
"To get you ready for St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, we wanted to share the story behind that famous phrase and discuss how the luck of the Irish might be in your DNA. And, this St. Patrick’s day might just be the right time for you to try AncestryDNA, if you haven’t already."
Continue reading...

A History of Irish Surnames: Is Yours Here?

Ancestry
"The earliest known Irish surname is O’Clery (O Cleirigh); it’s the earliest known because it was written that the lord of Aidhne, Tigherneach Ua Cleirigh, died in County Galway back in the year 916 A.D."
Continue reading...

Irish Names and Surnames:

Ancestry
"This database is an excellent resource for learning about the origin and patterns of Irish names and surnames. It includes a lengthy introduction explaining the history and evolution of Irish names as well as sections on the Irish naming system, English-Irish surnames and first names of men and women, and Irish-English surnames and first names of men and women. This database would be a valuable resource for any researcher of Irish descent."
Continue reading or search database...

Tech:

Can an iPad Replace My Laptop or Desktop PC?

Lifewire
"The iPad is becoming increasingly powerful with each new generation. The iPad Pro actually bridged the gap into laptop land, scorching past entry-level laptops into that mid-range of laptop in terms of pure performance. When you combine this with a lightweight operating system that contains some heavyweight features like the newly-added slide-over and split-screen multitasking and great productivity apps, the line between laptop and iPad is definitely blurred."
Continue reading...

The Best Cloud Storage Options for the iPad:

Lifewire
"Cloud storage is the easiest way to expand the storage capabilities of your iPad. Not only can you get precious gigabytes (GB) of storage space for free, cloud storage is also a built-in backup for your data. No matter what happens to your device, the files stored in the cloud will remain in the cloud ready for you to download them.
But cloud services aren't just about expanding your storage options.
Continue reading...

Education:

Organizing Tips to Help Tidy up Your Genealogy Home Office:

Ancestral Findings Podcast
"Is your genealogy work piling up in your research office? It's a common genealogy issue. Join me today on the Ancestral Findings Podcast and I’ll give you some powerful tips to get your research organized."
Listen now...

Watch #RootsTech 2017 Videos:

Ancestry Insider
"RootsTech 2017 was in the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.I’ve written a lot about RootsTech 2017. Whew! That was quite the conference. According to FamilySearch, RootsTech reached 180,000 people around the world. More than 13,000 from most U.S. states and 43 countries gathered in person. More than 100,000 watched live via the Internet. On Saturday, 20,000 more gathered for the free Family Discovery Day. The Expo Hall had 170 vendors. There were more than 300 sessions.
Many of those sessions and classes are now available to watch online. Here are some of them..."
Continue reading...

VGS Latest News & Tips: 22 July 2015

Today: Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Summer Series Workshop Meeting

"Tips on using Google for Genealogy"

10:00 AM in the Atlanta Room at the Savannah Rec. Center.

How to Configure OneDrive to Sync Only Certain Folders in Windows 10:
How-to-Geek
"OneDrive provides 15 GB of free cloud space for you to store photos, music, documents, and other files. These files can be synced among multiple devices such as smart phones, tablets, and PCs. However, you may not want to download all your content to certain devices."
Continue reading...

April 1939: WRNS re-established:
FindMyPast
"During World War I, the Royal Navy became the first branch of the British military to recruit women with the foundation of the Women’s Royal Naval Service in 1917. At war’s end, the Service – in which those who served became known as the Wrens."
Continue reading...

Ancestors, Inc.: Inside the remarkable rise of the genealogy industry.
Technology
"My Heritage asked its 80 million members for photos of ancestors that strongly resembled them, and the family-tree business grew yet again."
Continue reading...

Digitization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Personnel Service Files – Update of July 2015:
Library and Archives Canada Blog
"As of today, 171,771 of 640,000 files are available online via our Soldiers of the First World War: 1914–1918 database. Please visit the Digitization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Service Files page for more details on the digitization project.
Library and Archives Canada is digitizing the service files systematically, from box 1 to box 10686, which roughly corresponds to alphabetical order.
Continue reading...

This Day In History:
1587 - 2nd English colony forms on Roanoke Island off NC
1775 - George Washington takes command of US troops
1918 - Lightning kills 504 sheep in Utah's Wasatch National Park

VGS Latest News & Tips: 21 July 2015

Tomorrow: Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Summer Series Workshop Meeting

"Tips on using Google for Genealogy"

10:00 AM in the Atlanta Room at the Savannah Rec. Center.

First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas): July 21, 1861:Fold3
"In the months following the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, there was increasing political pressure in the North for the Union army to launch an attack against the Rebels and quickly end the war. Despite General Irvin McDowell's concerns that his troops weren't prepared, he made plans to attack the Confederate forces gathered along Bull Run stream, near Manassas Junction, Virginia, about 25 miles from Washington DC."
Read more...

2nd Annual Worldwide FamilySearch Indexing event - August 7-14, 2015:
Legacy Family Tree
"I'll be there. I hope you will join me, and 100,000 others! If you're not registered, visit http://familysearch.org/indexing. Here's the announcement:
A record-setting 100,000 online volunteers are expected to participate in the second annual Worldwide Indexing Event, facilitating millions of discoveries for eager family history researchers. Scheduled for August 7–14, the event will show how anyone with a computer and Internet connection can help “Fuel the Find” by making information from historical documents easily searchable online."
Continue reading...

How to Pin Your Favorite Settings to the Start Menu in Windows 10:
HowToGeek
"If you find you’re accessing the same settings over and over in Windows 10, you can add these settings to the Start menu as tiles for quick and easy access. We’ll show you how to do this."
Continue reading...

Doing Vital Research:
Ancestry.com
"When we think of vital records, we usually think of birth, marriage, and death certificates. Unfortunately, those documents are fairly recent innovations. In fact, in the U.S. you usually don’t find them on a state level until the early 20th century.
But have no fear. Vital records aren’t the only place you can find vital details about your family. Check out our new guide to Finding U.S. Vital Records to learn where to look."
Continue reading...  (This is a pdf downloadable file)

5 Minute Genealogy Episode 6: Locate Where Your Ancestor Lived"
FamilySearch
"You may have asked yourself: “If I know an ancestor’s name, what should I look for next to find the person’s records?”
Pinpointing locations can help you know where to look for your ancestor’s records.
In this 4 minute, 26 second episode, Jesse and Tom will show you how maps, atlases, and gazetteers can help you locate your ancestors."
Watch Video...

This Day In History:

356 BC - Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
1915 - Wilson sends the third Lusitania note, warning Germany that future infringement of American rights will be deemed "deliberately unfriendly"
1918 - U-156 shells Nauset Beach, in Orleans, Massachusetts.