VGS News & Events: 26 August 2018 through 1 September 2018

Some of our members at the FGS Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Reminders:

Wednesday: August 28, 2018

Mid-Atlantic States SIG Meeting

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

Gen News and Announcements:

9 Questions for David Rencher, FamilySearch CGO and New Family History Library Director:

FamilySearch
"The world-renowned Family History Library in Salt Lake City has a new director, David Rencher, FamilySearch’s Chief Genealogy Officer (See news release: FamilySearch CGO David Rencher New Family History Library Director). Rencher will continue to serve in both roles and sees them as very complementary."
Continue reading...
Note: Mr Rencher will be our guest speaker at out February 2019 Annual Seminar

How to Turn Your Research Into Beautiful (Free!) Family Tree Charts in Just a Few Clicks:

Family History Daily
"You've worked hard compiling your genealogy research into a tree and now you want an attractive way to share it with family and friends, or display it in your own home. Creating a family tree chart is a wonderful way to do that."
Continue reading...

Looking for a New Family Tree Program? A Detailed Guide to the Top 6 Choices

Family History Daily
"For family historians the importance of maintaining a clear, organized and accurate family tree cannot be overstated. But finding a program that has just the perfect mix of features can feel like quite a task."
Continue reading...

New Jersey Digital Newspaper Project Receives Additional $219,609 Grant to Digitize Historical NJ Newspapers:

Rutgers
"The New Jersey Digital Newspaper Project (NJDNP) has received an additional round of funding in the amount of $219,609 to digitize historical New Jersey newspapers and make them available to the public via the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America website, the National Endowment for the Humanities announced today. The NJDNP—a collaboration between Rutgers University Libraries, the New Jersey State Archives, and the New Jersey State Library—is part of the National Digital Newspaper Program, a long-term effort to develop a searchable online database of U.S. newspapers from all 50 states."
Continue reading...

Your Italian Heritage:

FamilySearch
"From the Roman Empire to the Renaissance to the modern day, Italy has influenced cultures globally with its great achievements. With such a rich history behind them, Italians around the world today are deeply proud of their Italian roots. With anywhere from 60–140 million people with Italian heritage worldwide, Italians are among the most populous ethnic groups in the world. It’s possible that you too have Italian ancestry."
Continue reading...

Technology:

How to Test Your Internet Connection Speed or Cellular Data Speed:

How-to-Geek
"How fast is your Internet connection? Sure, your Internet service provider has given you some numbers, and your cellular provider probably says you get blazing fast 4G LTE. But how fast is it, actually?"
Continue reading...

Education:

Tips for Deciphering Illegible Ancient Documents:

Ancestral Findings
"Are you experiencing frustration at not being able to read the handwriting on an ancient document? Does it seem illegible to you? It might not be. Today on the Ancestral Findings Podcast I’ll show you how to unlock its secrets and improve your family tree."
Listen now...  8.31 minutes

Webinars:

How Photos Enhance Genealogical Research:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"Photographs are an important resource in genealogical research. They add faces to the names in your family tree and teach you about how your ancestors lived. In this webinar, you can learn about the value of photos in discovering and preserving your family history, connecting to the past and present, and sharing your story."
Tuesday, August 28, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Daniel Horowitz
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

The YDNA Test Should Be Your Favorite:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"The Y chromosome DNA, with its direct paternal line inheritance pattern, is a powerful tool for any genealogist, male or female, seeking to extend or verify a genealogical line. This lecture will cover basic and intermediate principles of using YDNA verify and extend your pedigree chart."
Wednesday, August 29, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Diahan Southard
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

Coming Soon:

Monday, September 10, 2018

(A VGS Live Webinar)

“Sources or Clues? Pitfalls of Using Published Genealogies and Online Trees.”

7:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Our first presentation in this new series , will be presented by Julie Miller, CG, CGL, FNGS. 

Her presentation is: “Sources or Clues? Pitfalls of Using Published Genealogies and Online Trees.”

Presentation description: Is it okay to use published genealogies and online trees in the search for our ancestors? Published genealogies and online trees are abundant, they are found in many places and in many different forms. But what happens when we just copy and use what is in published genealogies and online trees? This case study illustrates the confusion and the problems that may result if precautions are not taken.

Presenter bio: Julie Miller is a board-certified genealogist and genealogical lecturer who is a full-time professional researcher, speaker, and writer. She is the National Genealogical Society (NGS) Education Manager, was the conference chair of the 2010 and 2012 NGS conferences, and is an NGS fellow. Julie speaks on a wide variety of genealogy subjects both locally and nationally. Her articles have appeared in the NGSQ, NGS Magazine, and she was the genealogy columnist for the Broomfield Enterprise for ten years. Julie has been a volunteer at NARA-Denver for twenty years.

Please register for the webinar at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4171457348337485826
 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Julie has given us permission to record her presentation. After the live broadcast, it will be available in the Members Only section of the VGS website for 90 days.

VGS News & Events: 27 August 2017 - 2 September 2017

Members awaiting our first live webinar: August 23, 2017

About Our First Live Webinar:

First, let me say thank you to all those who attended the live webinar at the Savannah Center and to those who attended remotely and others who have seen the presentation from the "Cloud."
The cloud version will be available until a little after Thanksgiving Day. All members should have received an email with that link and a copy of the 12-page handout.

Second, in the 12 years that I have been the webmaster, this event generated more non-solicited comments from members than any other previous event including seminars.

Thank you for your comments.

Third, many of your comments were thanking me for the success of this event. I had very little to do with that. Your thanks should be directed to The Florida State Genealogical Society (FSGS) and to our VP Annette Burke Lyttle. The FSGS provided the "Go to Meeting" platform to make this type of meeting possible. It is provided free to affiliate member societies of which The VGS is one. Annette is often the moderator of the monthly FSGS webinar's and our program chair. It was her idea to try this type of event and the expertise to make all this technologically possible. Thank you FSGS and Annette. The success of this type of presentation has given us several ideas. Stay tuned for future events.
Lastly: Thank you to our guest speaker Mary Kurcher Roddy for a terrific presentation. She lives in Washington State. We connected with her for a test at 9:30 a.m. but it was 6:30 a.m. at her location.

There are No VGS meetings scheduled for this coming week.

Gen News & Announcements:

3 New SIG's May Be Forming:

The VGS

At our August monthly VGS meeting, Dale Heins circulated Special Interest Group (SIG) Interest Sheets for three (3) new SIGs.  We understand that many of you are either Seasonal Residents or just away on vacation.  The new SIGs which we are looking to form are:

ADOPTION SIG: The intent of the ADOPTION SIG will be to educate and guide members in their search for unknown family members, both recent and in the more distant past, using both DNA and traditional genealogical research, utilizing: Instruction and advice for making contact with DNA matches, Techniques and third-party tools for use with DNA, Social media and online directories for finding living people, Newspaper databases and other tools for traditional genealogy and Mutual support network for those seeking birth families.

MID-WEST SIG: The intent of the Mid-West SIG will be to assist VGS Members in researching their genealogy in the Mid-Western area of the United States.   This SIG will cover the following states: Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa & Missouri

ROOTS MAGIC SIG: The intent of the RootsMagic SIG will be to assist VGS Members in using the RootsMagic genealogy software including the following areas: Inputting ancestors information and building your databases, Adding media to your entries, Creating sources and documenting your entries, and Syncing your database and cloud storage.

If you have an interest in any of these SIG's, please contact The VGS SIG Coordinator, Dale Heins, of your interest. He can be reached HERE.

US Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards:

Fold 3
"Do you have an ancestor who received a U.S. Army or Navy pension between 1907 and 1933? Check out Fold3's collection of US Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards!"
Continue reading...

Were Your Ancestors Affected by Disaster? This Site Will Help You Uncover Their Stories:

Family History Daily
"Family History is about more than just finding the names and important dates of those that came before us, it is a quest to discover the narratives of our ancestors lives. But finding that information can be difficult and sometimes requires creative solutions, such as reviewing old newspapers or examining historical events that affected large populations."
Continue reading...

4 Events That Changed Our Ancestors’ Lives Forever, and the Records They Left Behind:

Family History Daily
"When it comes to history and genealogy, the two topics can never be separate. Our ancestors’ daily lives, family connections, and records were influenced by events in history that they could not control – and the aftermath of these historic events often brought about quite a change for those affected.
Let’s take a look at some of the events that may have influenced your American family members over the years as well as some related free resources for researching them."
Continue reading...

Georgia Historic Newspapers

Digital Library of Georgia
"The Georgia Historic Newspapers database is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia as part of Georgia HomePlace. The project is supported with federal LSTA funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia."
Search newspaper contents now...

The Best Genealogy Software:

Top Ten Reviews
"Genealogy software's job is to store, organize and chart the family history you have. We ranked software based on features that make the job easier. Before you purchase any genealogy software, it's best to consider what you already know about your family. If you're just beginning to research your family, look for software that connects to online databases. On the other hand, if you already know a significant amount about your family or just want to digitize your records, look for strong reporting and citation options. Below are other aspects to consider as you choose with genealogy software to buy."
Continue reading...

Changing Place Names in Genealogy Research:

LDS Genealogy

"It doesn't take long for a genealogical researcher to find that place names can get rather slippery. Not only are we faced with boundary changes in cities, counties, states and countries, even very local areas can change their names from time to time."
Continue reading...

RootsMagic Updated to Version 7.5.3.0: 

RootsMagic
"We have released an update for RootsMagic 7 users, version 7.5.3.0.  This update adds a few requested features to our Ancestry TreeShare feature, as well as fixing a few bugs."
See what's new...

Computer Club Event:

VGS webmaster, John DeAngelo, will be the guest speaker at The Villages Computer Club meetings on September 1 and repeated on September 8th. I will speak about things you should be aware of before starting your genealogy research. Meetings are at 1:00 p.m. at the La Hacienda Center and Lake Minona respectively.

Tech:

5 Ways to Run Windows Software on a Mac:

How to Geek
"Macs have a thriving ecosystem of software, but some programs still only support Windows. Whether you want to use business software or play Windows PC games, there are many ways to run Windows programs on your Mac."
Continue reading...

Education:

The Missouri Compromise: What Was it and How Did it Contribute to the Civil War?

Ancestral Findings
"The Missouri Compromise was an important factor in the events that led up to the American Civil War. On today’s episode, I’ll talk about how it contributed to the war that was to come."
Listen now... 4.44 minutes

Upcoming Webinars:

Getting Started with Evidentia:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars
"A quick overview of using Evidentia software to organize and share your research with Legacy Family Tree software. We will cover entering and cataloging your first source, analyzing your evidence, and exporting that evidence for use in Legacy Family Tree."
Wednesday, August 30, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.
Presenter: Edward A. Thompson
Learn more or Register for this webinar...

VGS Latest News & Tips: 4 April 2017

Reminder:
Tomorrow: April 5, 2017

French Canadian Genealogy SIG Meeting:

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

Gen News:

How a Professional Genealogist Approaches Brick Wall Problems:

Amy Johnson Crow
"Knocking down a brick wall genealogy problem takes a good strategy. I recently spoke with professional genealogist Kathleen Brandt for tips on how she helps her clients break down brick walls."
Continue reading...

How Has a Marriage Record Helped You?

FamilySearch
"Historical records can fill in the holes of a family story, and marriage records, particularly, are among the most helpful. These unique records often have a piece of information that is a key to unlocking hard-to-find generations in a family tree—the bride’s maiden name and sometimes even her parents’ names."
Continue reading...

How to Choose the Best Genealogy Software:

Amy Johnson Crow
"Choosing genealogy software can feel like looking for a new car. There are so many choices and so many things to consider that it feels overwhelming. Even though you're not spending as much on software as you would a car, you're still investing your research time and effort -- not to mention that it's going to be "carrying" your ancestors around! Here's how to sort through everything and choose the best genealogy software for you."
Continue reading...

Tech:

How to Delete an Email Address from the Auto-Complete List in Outlook for Windows:

How-to-Geek
"Outlook remembers every email address you’ve typed into email messages. These email addresses become part of the auto-complete list and matching items from that list are suggested as you type in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields."
Continue reading...

How to Use All of Windows 10’s Backup and Recovery Tools:

How-to-Geek
"Windows 10 includes several different types of backup and recovery tools. And we’re going to take a look at all of them."
Continue reading...

Education:

The American Orphan Trains:

Ancestral Findings
"What were the Orphan Trains and what did they do for children? It's an intriguing story. And you don’t want to miss today’s podcast."
Lesson now... 5.28 minutes

VGS Latest News & Tips: 29 March 2017

Gen News:

The New and Improved Find A Grave Shown at RootsTech:

Ancestry Insider
"At RootsTech 2017 Peter Drinkwater showed off a late-alpha prototype for a new Find A Grave website. Fearing the worst, he was quite happy when the presentation didn’t devolve into a lynching. Find A Grave diehards are that passionate."
Continue reading...

The Best Genealogy Software of 2017:

Top Ten Reviews
"The programs on this page are compatible with PCs. If you are looking for genealogy software that will work on your Mac, visit our review of the best genealogy software for Mac."
Continue reading...

How A Little-Known Group Of Citizen Soldiers Helped Win The American Revolution:

H&N
"During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington often turned to a group of citizen soldiers from Maryland for their prowess on the battlefield. But their actions haven't really been documented, until now."
Continue reading...

Tech:

How to Prepare for an Eventual Power Outage:

How-to-Geek
"Power outages don’t happen too often, but when they do, you’ll want to make sure that you, your gadgets, and your house are prepared. Here are some things to keep in mind when the lights go out."
Continue reading...

The Easiest Way to Fix Wi-Fi Issues: Move Your Router (Seriously):

How-to-Geek
"Are there Wi-Fi dead zones in your house? Before you do anything drastic, you might be able to fix it by simply moving your router."
Continue reading...

Education:

Site of Salem Witch Trial Hangings Discovered: Why It's Important to Genealogists:

Ancestral Findings
"The location of the 1692 Salem witch trial hangings has been located by researchers. On today’s episode of the Ancestral Findings Podcast, I’ll talk about why this discovery is significant to genealogists."
Listen now... 7.09 minutes

VGS Latest News & Tips: 24 March 2017

Gen News:

How to Choose the Best Genealogy Software:

Amy Johnson Crow
"Choosing genealogy software can feel like looking for a new car. There are so many choices and so many things to consider that it feels overwhelming. Even though you're not spending as much on software as you would a car, you're still investing your research time and effort -- not to mention that it's going to be "carrying" your ancestors around! Here's how to sort through everything and choose the best genealogy software for you."
Continue reading...

Websites To Help You Find Old Local Maps:

Family Tree Tips
"Whilst it’s great learning about your ancestors, a lot of people neglect to learn about the places they lived or even the land they they might have owned or worked on. The majority of us will have ancestors that lived and worked in rural areas, be it in the United Kingdom, Europe or the USA. There are websites dedicated to preserving and displaying old local maps."
Continue reading...

6 Websites That Will Help You Find German Ancestors:

Family Tree Tips

"Many people will have at some point in their Family Tree, German Ancestors. These can be quite elusive if you don’t know where to look. Below are a 6 really useful websites that will help you find those missing German Ancestors and break down some international brick walls."

Continue reading...

Tech:

What Are Mesh Wi-Fi Systems, and How Do They Work?

How-to-Geek
"If your home’s Wi-Fi network has dead spots, or doesn’t reach across your entire house, then you might have recently considered getting a mesh Wi-Fi system. They’ve skyrocketed in popularity, but what exactly is mesh Wi-Fi and how is it different than a traditional Wi-Fi extender?"
Continue reading...

How to Set Up the Google Wi-Fi System:

How-to-Geek
"Mesh Wi-Fi networking is all the rage lately, and even Google has gotten in on the fun. Here’s how to set up Google Wi-Fi in order to get rid of dead spots at all corners of your house or apartment."
Continue reading...

Education:

Using DAR Application Papers to Discover Your Ancestors:

Ancestral Findings Podcast
"Have you ever used the application papers of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in your research? You should. In this episode of the Ancestral Findings Podcast, I’ll talk about what you may find in them and where you can access the records."
Listen now...  4.15 minutes

VGS News & Tips: 5 April 2016

Today: Tuesday: April 5, 2016

Italian Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

Note: Different Date... This meeting replaces the April 19th meeting...

John DeAngelo, guest speaker.

Tomorrow: Wednesday: April 6, 2016

French Canadian Genealogy SIG Meeting:

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

DNA and Family Tree Research:
Maurice Gleeson
"Practical guidance on how to use DNA to advance your genealogy research."
Continue reading...

Who Do You Think You Are? Recap with Aisha Tyler: Headlining your History:
Ancestry
"Who Do You Think You Are? continues to draw millions of viewers in every season because each episode masterfully brings the past to life and tells an evocative story. “How can I find stories like that in my tree?” is the question we hear often at Ancestry, and the answer might be simpler than you think."
Continue reading...

Why don't genealogists ask more why questions?
Genealogy's Star
" Every single family line on every single online family tree eventually reaches a point where there is absolutely no documentation and successive generations are pure speculation or fantasy."
Continue reading...

Family Historian adds automatic record matching and ‘hints’ for Findmypast databases:
Family Historian 6
"LONDON – 2nd April, 2016 – Calico Pie today released a new version of Family Historian, the award-winning desktop genealogy program.  The new version includes automatic matching against records on Findmypast databases. Users are notified of matches with on-screen icons called ‘hints’."
Continue reading...

What’s New in Windows 10’s Anniversary Update, Coming This Summer:
How-to-Geek
"Windows 10’s next big update, dubbed the “Anniversary Update”, comes out this summer, and will be available for users of the Insider Preview builds today. Here are some of the new features coming in the update."
Continue reading...

This Day In History: 5 April
1614: Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe.
1919: Eamon de Valera becomes president of Ireland.
1930: Mahatma Gandhi defies British law by making salt in India instead of buying it from the British.
1856 Birthday: Booker T. Washington, former slave, educator, founded the Tuskegee Institute.

VGS Latest News & Tips: 1 April 2016

Today: Friday: April 1, 2016

British Genealogy SIG Meeting

9:30 AM in the Courageous Room at the Lake Miona Recreation Center
Today: Friday: April 1, 2016
NEHGS Conference in The Villages: For those who have registered, the conference will be held at the Waterfront Inn today, beginning at 9:00. Remember to bring your
ticket.

Why Add An Unlinked Individual To Your Genealogy Database?
LegacyFamilyTree
"Right now, most of the people in your Legacy Family Tree database are probably linked to you. Another way to say it is that they are all related to you in some way no matter how distant. Sometimes you need to add someone to your database who isn't related to you - or at least you can't figure out how - yet!"
Continue reading...

Editor's Note: Not all genealogy software has an easy means to find unlinked individuals. Know and understand your software before using this technique.

Free Webinar...

Click to Register

The Mixed-Up Brothers of Bogotá:
The New York Times Magazine
"After a hospital error, two pairs of Colombian identical twins were raised as two pairs of fraternal twins. This is the story of how they found one another — and of what happened next."
Continue reading...

How to Extract Images, Text, and Embedded Files from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Documents:
How-to-Geek
"Say someone sent you a Word document with a lot of images, and you want you to save those images on your hard drive. You can extract images from a Microsoft Office document with a simple trick."
Continue reading...

This Day In History: 1 April
1778: Oliver Pollock, creates the dollar sign.
1905: Berlin and Paris are linked by telephone.
1918: England’s Royal Air Force is formed.
1883 Birthday: William Manchester, U.S. historian and biographer.

VGS Latest News & Tips: 19 February 2016

Today: Friday: February 19, 2016

Scandinavian Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

PA-Roots Photographs Now Over 38,000 Images:

PA-Roots

Are you from Pennsylvania? You may be interested in this website that contains over 38,000 images from every county in the state. Photos include portraits, tombstones, landscapes, buildings and more.

Search images...

Annual Seminar Door Prizes Have Been Announced!
Download the list...

4 Free Online Photo Editing Tools to Restore Your Family Photos:
Crestleaf
"So you’ve scanned your family photos and created backups using a flash drive, CD or cloud photo backup software to preserve your family memories. Good for you! The next step is to restore your older, discolored family pictures to keep your family tree sitting pretty."
Continue reading...

A Growing Source for Free Genealogy: Digital Public Library of America:
Amy Johnson Crow
"What’s better than a website that gives access to more than 11 million digitized items? A website that does it for free. That’s just what the Digital Public Library of America does. DPLA is constantly growing and fast becoming a “must visit” website for free genealogy resources."
Continue reading...

Touch Screen Laptops Aren’t Just a Gimmick. They’re Actually Useful:
How-to-Geek
"Touch on Windows laptops, in one form or another, has been around for quite some time. For most of that time, it was bad. No wait, bad is too generous–it was nearly unusable. But as much as no one wants to admit it, that’s all changed. Touch is quite good on Windows 10."
Continue reading...

Today: John Bartram DAR Chapter Monthly Meeting:
"John Bartram DAR Chapter monthly meeting will be held on Friday, Feb. 19 from 10 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. at the Eisenhower Recreation Center with the program ‘George Washington as a Spymaster’ followed by optional prepaid luncheon."

This Day In History: 19 February
1807: Vice President Aaron Burr is arrested in Alabama for treason. He is later found innocent.
1902: Smallpox vaccination becomes obligatory in France.
1925: President Calvin Coolidge proposes the phasing out of inheritance tax.
1473 Birthday: Nicholas Copernicus, Polish astronomer who introduced the idea that the earth revolved around the sun.

VGS Latest News & Tips: 10 December 2015

Today: Thursday, December 10, 2015

German Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

Tomorrow: Friday, December 11, 2015

Genetic Genealogy SIG Meeting

10:00 AM in the Rhett Butler Room at the Savannah Center

Legacy Family Tree:
Why FTM users love Legacy!
So many former Family Tree Maker users have turned to Legacy, and we asked them why. Here were their top reasons:

• Company-user relationship, support
• Reasonable pricing and free updates
• Navigation and data entry
• Sourcing capabilities
• User-friendly
• Reports
• Name list
• View multiple databases side-by-side / drag-drop
• Web pages

Continue reading...
Here's the complete list with the users' comments.

Special Legacy Pricing...
Free - Standard Edition. Millions have downloaded Legacy. Download here and import your FTM file in minutes.
$10 off - through December 31, 2015, Legacy Deluxe (download-edition) is just $19.95. Click here to purchase.
Editor's Note: I have used Legacy since 2005 and I am very pleased with this software.

Family Tree Maker® users have a new home at RootsMagic; Upgrade offer and Free Book and Magic Guides:
Roots Magic
"To make the transition as painless as possible, we’ve set-up a special website at www.FTMUpgrade.com that includes training videos, testimonials, and more.  And for a limited time, we are offering Family Tree Maker users the full-version of RootsMagic for the amazing low price of only $20. We will also include the printed book, “Getting the Most out of RootsMagic” absolutely free (a $14.95 value).  You must visit www.FTMUpgrade.com to receive the discount."

3 Great Reasons Why Every Genealogist Should Use Flickr:
Crestleaf
"The popular photo and video hosting website, Flickr, is a tool that has been added to my “genealogy toolbox.” It has a wealth of possibilities for the genealogist. (Did I mention Flickr is free?!)"
Continue reading...

Genealogy Bargains
GeneaBloggers
"Don’t forget that 5% of all revenue generated by Genealogy Bargains is given back to the genealogy community! Check out The Genealogy Fairy for more information!:
Continue reading...

Deposit your research at the Society of Genealogists:
Society of Genealogists:
"One of the great strengths of the Society’s Library as a source for family history is its collection of unique, original documents and research material."
Continue reading...
Download PDF Leaflet...

Power Researching!
Backtracking the Common
"Here’s the situation.  You’re researching multiple family lines.  You have an opportunity to visit an excellent genealogical library or research facility miles or even days away from where you live.  You’ll have limited time, a day or two, to be in the facility.  How do you maximize your time and carry home the most amount of information?  Try what I call power researching."
Continue reading...

8 Things You Can Do With 3D Touch on an iPhone:
How-to-Geek
"The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are the first iPhones to feature “3D touch“. 3D Touch allows the iPhone to detect how hard you’re pressing, and you can press harder on the screen in some places to do different things."
Continue reading...

This Day In History: December 10
1817: Mississippi is admitted as the 20th state.
1862: The U.S. House of Representatives passes a bill creating the state of West Virginia.
1869: Governor John Campbell signs the bill that grants women in Wyoming Territory the right to vote as well as hold public office.
1830 Birthday: Emily Dickinson, American poet of more than 1,000 poems, seven published in her lifetime.

VGS Latest News & Tips: 20 October 2015

Today: Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Italian Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

Tomorrow: Wednesday, October 21, 2015

New to Genealogy SIG Meeting

2:30 PM in the Chateaugay Room at the Chatham Recreation Center

Best Family Tree Software & Websites to Share Your Genealogy:
GenealogyBank
"If a genealogist falls in the forest—does he or she make a sound? What are you doing to ensure that your decades of family history research are preserved and passed down so that others can build on your expertise?"
Continue reading...

New Library Hours!
"Sumter County Library System has revised hours increasing weeknight and weekend hours at all five branches."

Library Hours

TinEye Reverse Image Search:

SassyJane Genealogy
"TinEye is an image search company in Toronto, Canada. Their website (and related browser plug-ins) offer innovative ways to link specific images in your collections with their locations on the Internet. Don’t remember where you got that great family photo? Not even sure it’s Great-Aunt Myrtle and her sisters? Try TinEye!"
Continue reading...

Legal News & Records in Newspapers & Your Ancestors: 

GenealogyBank

"One of the reasons I love newspapers for my family history research is that they tell the story of a community, the entire story both good and bad. Legal news and records of all types can be found in the newspaper including arrests, court cases (criminal and civil), as well as investigations into crime. Unlike other types of newspaper topics, those involving the law result in numerous follow-up articles as court cases are heard over days and weeks, or as an offender is arrested multiple times."

Continue reading...

Notarial Archives Tell Story of New Orleans in Thousands of Historic Documents:

NewOrleansAdvocate

"Opening a weighty volume of yellowing paper, Sally Reeves gently unfolded a cloth drawing of an elaborate burial chamber at Metairie Cemetery.

The drawing, attached to an agreement to build the tomb, is one of hundreds of thousands of carefully preserved documents dating back to the 1730s that provide details of life in New Orleans throughout its history. And, whether for purposes of genealogical research, historical scholarship or simple curiosity, they’re all available for the public to peruse."

Continue reading...

This Day In History: October 20
1818: The United States and Britain establish the 49th Parallel as the boundary between Canada and the United States.
1903: The Joint Commission, set up on January 24 by Great Britain and the United States to arbitrate the disputed Alaskan boundary, rules in favor of the United States. The deciding vote is Britain’s, which embitters Canada. The United States gains ports on the panhandle coast of Alaska.
1924: Baseball’s first ‘colored World Series’ is held in Kansas City, Mo.
1931 Birthday: Mickey Mantle, baseball great who played for the New York Yankees.

VGS News & Tips: 10 Jun 2015

Meeting Reminder - Tomorrow, June 11:

German Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

What’s New on FamilySearch—June, 2015
FamilySearch Blog
"Each month, FamilySearch publishes a list of new changes and updates to the FamilySearch.org website. This list includes changes to Family Tree as well as other parts of FamilySearch.org. In some cases, these changes will also be published as individual articles where the need to do so exists."
See what's new...

MacFamilyTree 7 and MobileFamilyTree 7 are On Sale at 50% Off Until June 21:
Dick Eastman: egon.com
"MacFamilyTree is one of the leading genealogy programs for Macintosh. It also has a great companion product called MobileFamilyTree for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch devices."
Read more...

Registration Open for 2015 Eastern European Family History Conference:
Foundation for East European Family History Studies (FEEFHS)
August 11-15, 2015
Plaza Hotel, Salt Lake City
Read more...

Searching for Your American Indian Ancestors:
FamilySearch
"Anyone doing Native American family history research understands the great challenges of finding good reliable records that document the lives of their Indian ancestors. Records are sparse and often contain only meager information at best.
Below are some useful links to records collections and articles that can be found in the FamilySearch website."
Read more...

This Day In History:
1964: the United States Senate breaks a 75 day filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, leading to the bill's passage.
1908: Robert Cummings an American actor was born; he died in 1990.
1898: During the Spanish-American War, United States Marines land on the island of Cuba.

Family Tree Builder 7.0 now available for Mac!Shared by Family Tree Builder

"We're happy to announce that Mac users can now download and use MyHeritage Family Tree Builder! Like the Windows version, it's completely free!"

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