VGS Latest News & Tips: 27 December 2016

An Easy Guide To Commercial Genealogical DNA Tests:

Family Tree Tips
"DNA Tests have become a staple of Genealogy in recent years and as they are getting cheaper and cheaper a lot more amateur genealogists are becoming much more interested in unlocking the secrets kept within their DNA. The main question is which one to get."
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What Our Ancestors’ Deaths Can Teach Us About Their Lives:

Trentino Genealogy
"Lynn Serafinn explains the importance and challenges of including death information in your family tree, and discusses 10 causes of death in 19th century."
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Location, Location, Location: Putting Your Ancestors in Their Place:

The Family Locket
"Do you have a difficult ancestor? One that just won’t stay put in one place?"
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8 Lessons Learned From Amanda Holden's WDYTYA Appearance:

FindMyPast
"Here's how the Britain's Got Talent judge traced her French roots and learned more about her paternal grandfather."
Continue reading... 

How to Create a Guest Account in Windows 10:

How-to-Geek
"If you find that your guests are asking fairly often to use your computer temporarily to check their email or look something up on the web, you don’t have to let them use your personal account or create a special account for each guest."
Continue reading...

This Day In History: 27 December

1932: Radio City Music Hall opens.
1944: General George S. Patton’s Third Army, spearheaded by the 4th Armored Division, relieves the surrounded city of Bastogne in Belgium.
1956: Segregation on buses in Tallahassee, Florida, is outlawed.
1822 Birthday: Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist.

State Timelines:

Even though it is hard to tell what made people move or disappear, these are just a few possibilities.
Nebraska:
1865: Union Pacific Railroad began to lay rails across state
1867: Admitted to the Union
1877: Crazy Horse surrendered
1880: Population now 452,000

VGS Reminders: 24-28 August 2015

Genetic Genealogy SIG Meeting August 2015

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Brick Wall SIG Meeting

8:30 AM in the Nimitz and King Rooms of the EISENHOWER Recreation Center

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Summer Series Workshop

10:00 AM in the Nimitz and King Rooms of the EISENHOWER Recreation Center

Tomorrow, Sunday, August 23rd is the next episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" on TLC at 9:00 p.m.
Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) will be featured. Bryan is an American actor, voice actor, writer and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Walter White in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad.  In this episode Bryan recalls his happy childhood being shattered when his father abandoned the family when Bryan was just 11. Seeking answers, Bryan explores his paternal roots, finds a troubling pattern of desertion, a man of honor and an aunt he never even knew existed.

On This Day In History:

1485: Henry Tudor defeats Richard III at Bosworth. This victory establishes the Tudor dynasty in England and ends the War of the Roses.

1911: The Mona Lisa, the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, is stolen from the Louvre in Paris, where it had hung for more than 100 years. It is recovered in 1913.

1922: Michael Collins, Irish politician, is killed in an ambush.

1934 Birthday: H. Norman Schwarzkopf, American general and commander of the coalition forces during the Persian Gulf War.

VGS Reminders: 17-21 August 2015

Family Tree Maker SIG August 2015

Friday, August 21, 2015

Scandinavian Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

The VGS August Newsletter Has Been Sent:
All members should have received their copy of The VGS August Newsletter in their e-mail in-box today.  Click HERE to download the August edition or any other edition of our newsletter.

Tomorrow, Sunday, August 16th is the next episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" on TLC at 9:00 p.m.
Into the Archives:
This special episode digs into its archives and features highlights throughout the seasons including triumphs and tragedies, delightful discoveries and sobering moments. It also unveils outtakes and never-before-seen footage from the "Who Do" vault.

This Day In History:
1914: The Panama Canal opens to traffic.
1935: American comedian and "cowboy philosopher" Will Rogers dies in an airplane accident, along with American aviation pioneer Wiley Post.
1945: Gasoline and fuel oil rationing ends in the United States.

VGS News & Tips: 27 July 2015

FamilySearch Records Update: New records for Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Spain, Sweden, and United States:
LegacyFamilyTree
"Family historians hungry for historic Irish records will enjoy FamilySearch’s new collection, Ireland Petty Sessions Court Registers 1828-1912. These indexed court documents bring 22 million records to your fingertips."
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Ginnifer Goodwin was the latest celebrity to explore her family's genealogy on Who Do You Think You Are?
TLC
"Her grandfather spent time in federal prison, and the first picture she sees of him is a mugshot from when he was 29 years old."
Watch past episodes...

How to Create an Image of Your PC Before Upgrading to Windows 10:
How-to-Geek
"Windows 10 is the biggest and most aggressive Windows rollout to date. Before you take the plunge you need to image your hard drive so, should you wish to return to the familiarity of Windows 7 or Windows 8 you can do so with the click of a button."
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Tips for Finding Your Ancestors in German Civil Registration Records on Ancestry:
Ancestry.com
"Ancestry has just launched more than 11.7 million new German records, the majority of which are birth, marriage, and death records."
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How to Find Genealogy Information When a Record Doesn’t Exist:
Amy Johnson Crow
"The other day, I was helping someone with his genealogy research in Indiana. He had what seemed to be a simple question. He was trying to find a birth record of his ancestor who was born there around 1840. Just one problem: Indiana didn’t keep civil birth records back in 1840. So how do you find genealogy information when the record doesn’t even exist?"
Continue reading...

This Day In History:
1861: President Abraham Lincoln replaces General Irwin McDowell with General George B. McClellen as head of the Army of the Potomac.
1914: British troops invade the streets of Dublin, Ireland, and begin to disarm Irish rebels.
1953: Representatives of the United Nations, Korea and China sign an armistice at Panmunjon, Korea.

VGS Latest News & Tips: 20 July 2015

Windows 10 Updates to be Automatic and Mandatory for Home Users:
ars technica
"Windows Update can't be readily disabled in Windows 10 Home, and the license terms that all users must agree to allow Microsoft to install updates automatically."
Continue reading...

AncestryDNA Celebrates One Million People Tested:
ancestry.com"
We just hit a huge milestone, and we are excited to celebrate! In just three short years AncestryDNA has genetically tested one million people to help them discover more about themselves and their family story."
Continue reading...

Ancestors please! How to ask for help online?
Legacy Family Tree
"Do you remember in the old days when we had to ask for help about an ancestor by submitting a written query to a publication like Everton's Genealogical Helper? The other direct way was to write to people who had the same surname and hope that they would respond and have a common ancestor.
Things have changed since then! So much of what we do as genealogists in now online. "
Continue reading...

Who Do You Think You Are? Season 6"
 "If you’re tired of summer reruns, we’ve got some Sunday night relief with 6 new episodes of Who Do You Think You Are? Want to know who’s looking to discover their family story this time? Watch the season premiere Sunday, July 26 at 9/8c on TLC."
Season 6 - Episode 1: Ginnifer Goodwin
Season 6 - Episode 2: J.K. Rowling
Season 6 - Episode 3: Alfre Woodard
Season 6 - Episode 4: Into the Archives
Season 6 - Episode 5: Bryan Cranston
Season 6 - Episode 6: Tom Bergeron

Do You Know a WW II veteran who was present during the surrender of Japan? Ancestry.com would love to talk with him. Email contact info to social@ancestry.com.

This Day In History:
1808 - Napoleon decrees all French Jews adopt family names
1861 - The Congress of the Confederate States began holding sessions in Richmond, Va.
1944 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for an unprecedented fourth term at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

VGS Meeting Reminders: 20-24 Apr 2015

Genetic Genealogy SIG Meeting April 2015

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Italian Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Brick Wall SIG Meeting (Note: Meeting Location Change)

8:30 AM in the Ricardo Montalban Room of the La Hacienda Center.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

General Monthly Meeting (Note: Meeting Location Change)

10:00 AM in the Ricardo Montalban Room of the La Hacienda Center.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

New to Genealogy SIG Meeting

2:00 PM in the Gladiola Room at the Allamanda Recreation Center.

Bill Paxton featured on the U.S. Version of “Who Do You Think You Are?”:

WDYTYA

This week on Who Do You Think You Are? Bill Paxton researches his paternal lineage, uncovering the life of an ancestor who was a war hero in an historic battle; and struggling with the morality of actions his four times great grandfather took. The episode airs this Sunday, April 19 at 10:00 on TLC

VGS Latest News & Tips: 7 Apr 2015

Meeting Reminder - Tomorrow, April 8:

Irish Genealogy SIG Meeting

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

Who Do You Think You Are?

Discover your roots like a celebrity, plus have a red carpet experience! Win a trip for two to your family's homeland and access to a personal genealogical historian provided by Ancestry. You'll also get star treatment at a Hollywood movie premiere.

Grand Prize:

• Trip for two to your ancestral homeland and $2,000 in spending money
• Personal historian to guide you on your journey
• Trip for two to Hollywood to attend a movie premiere
• Ancestry products including a DNA Kit and World Explorer membership
• Plus weekly prizes!   Enter to win...

FamilySearch has added to its Collections:

More than 18.3 million indexed records and images for England, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States have been added to FamilySearch. One new browsable image collection that was added is the Pennsylvania, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1866-1956. This collection consists of membership records of the Pennsylvania Department Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union army and navy veterans of the Civil War. The collection consists of registers, lists, minute books, account books and descriptive books of local posts (chapters). The descriptive books include town of residence, military unit, date of enlistment, date of discharge, age and birthplace. There are currently 2919 images in 9 boxes of information. Boxes 2 through 8, box 9-10 and box 13. At this point you don't know what is in any box. If you go to Box 13 and click on images image 2 through 4 you will find an explanation of what is in all the boxes. There are also descriptions of what is in boxes 1, 11 and 12 but apparently they have not as yet been digitized.

Other collections of note are:
Texas, County Marriage Records, 1837-1977 a collection of various types of marriage records (registers, licenses, intentions to marry, etc.) from 183 of the 254 counties in Texas. 1.3 million records with 464,000 images.

United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920: This collection contains World War I service records from 1914-1920. It contains records from two publications in the National Archives: WO 363 (War Office: Soldiers' Documents, First World War "Burnt Documents") and WO 364 (War Office: Documents from Pension Claims, First World War). Index only, no images.

England, Westminster Rate Books, 1634-1900: This collection contains rate books from various parishes in Westminster City from 1634-1900. The rate books were an assessment of tax that was owed and are an excellent census substitute. They are arranged by street and usually contain the head of household, owner, street address, rate owed, and event date. This collection was originally filmed at the Westminster City Archives and the index was created by FindMyPast.com. You must be at a Family History Center or a member of FindMyPast to see the image.

FTDNA Chromosome Browser:

Dear Myrtle and Angie Bush
This is a video that explains the benefits of a "chromosome broswer" using the Family Tree DNA website in this episode of  Ol' Myrt's Demystifying My DNA Tests. It's fascinating to see which segments are in common and how much (actually quite little) DNA is inherited from a specific grandparent or great-grandparents. For this discussion, we used Angie's daughter's DNA results, since that dear little girl is young enough to have her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents tested.
View video...

This Day In History:
7 April 1999: World Trade Organization rules in favor of the United States and its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over bananas.

7 April 1983: During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the 1st space shuttle spacewalk.

7 April 1940: Booker T. Washington becomes the 1st African-American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.

VGS Latest News & Tips: 30 Mar 2015

Are You Researching Your Mayflower Ancestors?

Michael J. Leclerc writes "If your research leads you to family that lived in southeastern Massachusetts, there is a good chance that you may discover ancestors who lived in the Plymouth Colony. If you are very lucky, you might even find that you have some who arrived on the Mayflower. Here are three resources to help you find out more about Mayflower ancestors."
Read more...

Michael also wrote about Family Registers as Gifts. I know it's early but maybe this might be a Birthday, Christmas or Special Occasion gift idea. He writes "One of the nice things about doing genealogical research is being able to share our family history with our family and friends. In today’s digital age, we have many new and exciting ways of doing this. But sometimes it is the traditional ways that are most fun, even when they carry a modern twist.  Creating new family record or family tree broadsides from antique originals is a great way to gift your genealogical research to other family members.
Read more...

Who Do You Think You Are?

Have you missed any of the episodes from the current series of Who Do You Think You Are? You can catch up online.
Episode 3: Angie Harman
Episode 2: Josh Groban
Episode 1: Julie Chen

In Iceland’s DNA, New Clues to Disease-Causing Genes:

The New York Times:
Carl Zimmer writes "Scientists in Iceland have produced an unprecedented snapshot of a nation’s genetic makeup, discovering a host of previously unknown gene mutations that may play roles in ailments as diverse as Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and gallstones.
Read more...

News:

The Citrus County Genealogical Society will meet May 12 at 10:00 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3474 W. Southern St., Lecanto. The program will be “Tracing Immigrant Ancestors” presented by Lisa Alzo as a webinar on CD. She is a teacher of online genealogy courses for Family Tree University. This session will show you tips and tricks for locating and searching passenger lists and other key immigration documents both on and offline to help you trace your roots. Guests are welcome to attend. For questions call Mary Ann Machonkin at 382-5515 or go to www.citrusgenealogy.com

This Day in History:

30 Mar 1981: President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr.

30 Mar 1870: Texas is readmitted to the Union following Reconstruction.

30 Mar 1867: Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about $.02 per acre by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward

VGS Latest News & Tips: 6 Mar 2015

The sixth season of "Who Do You Think You Are?" begins this coming Sunday at 10:00 p.m. on The Learning Channel (TLC). Note the new time slot. 

This season’s lineup of well-known personalities discovering their ancestry include:

• Julie Chen
• Angie Harmon
• Sean Hayes
• Bill Paxton
• Melissa Etheridge
• America Ferrara
• Tony Goldwyn
• Josh Groban

Lisa Kudrow, the executive producer of "Who Do You Think You Are?" was recently on "The Talk" speaking about the upcoming show featuring Julie Chen who is one of The Talk moderators.
Watch part of this conversation...

It is my understanding that the 30% promotion, scheduled to be discontinued on March 4th is in the process of being renewed and AARP members can continue to use this offer for WorldConnect.

It's Time to Spring Ahead! Daylight Savings Time arrives this coming Sunday, March 8 at 2:00 a.m. You loose an hours sleep as you move your clock ahead an hour but you will gain it back on November 1st when Standard Times returns.

VGS Latest News & Tips

Meeting Reminder - Tomorrow, February 19:

New England Genealogy SIG Meeting

Noon in the New Smyrna Room at the Sea Breeze Recreation Center.
Webinar on "Colonial Immigrants".

Who Do You Think You Are?
Julie Chen kicks off the new spring season of "Who Do You Think You Are? on Sunday, March 8th at 10:00 p.m. Ancestry.com and The Learning Channel (TLC) have teamed up again to produce this 8 week series that will run between March 8 and April 26. The celebrity line-up also includes: Josh Groban, Angie Harmon, Sean Hayes, Tony Goldwyn, America Ferrera, Bill Paxton and Melissa Etheridge.  Click HERE to learn more or to watch past episodes.

What Do You Get from DNA Testing:
Betty Lou Malesky, past president of the Green Valley Genealogical Society and a Board-certified GenealogistSM wrote a very interesting article for the Arizona newspaper "Green Valley News and Sun."
In her article, she expresses her opinions on DNA testing. "Since the birth of DNA testing in 1985, DNA and genealogy have been linked as if the two were inseparable friends." She expresses some very valid opinions that those considering a test should be aware of.
Read more...

Webinar: A Guide to Overseas Genealogy: The Florida State Genealogical Society (FGS) will host a Poolside Char Webinar on February 19, 2015 from 8:00 to 9:00p.m. The guest speaker will be Jacqueline Krieps Schattner who has been actively researching her family’s ancestors since 1996. She was a 15 year volunteer for the Family History Center, Schaumburg, IL and currently volunteers at the Arlington Heights Library Genealogy Room.  She teaches genealogy for District 211 and 214 Adult Continuing Educationin the Chicago Northwest Suburbs and beginning genealogy classes at area libraries and churches. 
"Crossing the pond is easier than you think. We’ll present the history of immigrant travel into the US and how to find genealogical records in most European countries. A list of books and over 70 American and European websites for genealogical research and a guide for translating records will be provided." Registration is Required.
Learn more and to register...