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Archives for May 2023

Two virtual classes offered on U.S. census records

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FamilySearch Library will present two virtual classes on U.S. Federal census records on June 1 and June 15 at noon Eastern time.

Thursday, June 1 – U.S. Federal census records: 1950-1910

Thursday, June 15 – U.S. Federal census records:  1900-1850

Learn about the history and background of these records, their genealogical value and best practices for finding and using the records in your research.

To register for the June 1 program, go to: https://churchofjesuschrist.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4WQqMkurS5-aJ6HOMGq6XQ#/registration

To register for the June 15 program, go to: https://churchofjesuschrist.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VqJgQ8GkRpWBUHPBWWVbuA#/registration

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MyHeritage.com offers free access to military records this weekend

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In honor of Memorial Day, MyHeritage.com is offering free access to its collection of military records from today through May 30, 2023.

Its 83 million military records provide insights into the lives of those who served their country in times of war and peace. They allow us to piece together the stories of their service and honor their memories. Its collection includes draft, enlistment, and service records, pension records, and military biographies from various countries around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and many more.

You will need to set up a free user name and password to view the records. To get started searching, go to: Free Military Records

 

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Free genealogy webinars to cover Civil War records, family history blogs

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Several free webinars will be offered this week covering the topics of African-American genealogy, family history blogs and Civil war records.

Family Tree Webinars will present “Organizing Your Research” on Wednesday, May 24 at  2 p.m. Don’t let the “stuff” of genealogy overwhelm your space or your computer files. Organized research can save you time and money and help guide you to the next big breakthrough!

To register, go to: https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/how-do-i-keep-all-this-stuff-straight-organizing-your-research/

The Cranberry Genealogy Club will present “Dissecting a Civil War Penson Pension Record” on Wednesday, May 24 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time.  Do you have a Civil War soldier in your lineage? Perhaps you even have some of his records or artifacts. Military records of this era can reveal many things about your ancestor and his family, but the procurement and interpretation of these records can also be overwhelming, especially if you are a beneficiary of hundreds of pages of documentation. We take the “typical” pension records of a Union and a Confederate soldier, pull the file apart to understand its contents, extract the evidence, and then place it in the context of other evidence to give us a better “picture” of two soldiers.

To register, go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMlceqvpj4tGNE6mtdeFVIFghHAdFuecn1F#/registration

The Allen County Public Library will present “Using Blogs to Share Family History Writing” on Thursday, May 25 at 6:30 p.m. Have you considered starting your own genealogy blog to share the compelling stories of a family line or of a particular ancestor? This class will focus on the basics behind creating a blog and all you need to know to get started with publishing your selected content online. The interactive element of blogging adds a dynamic element that stand-alone books and regular websites do not offer because readers can post information and stories to add to the content that you share with your audience.

To register, go to: https://acpl.libnet.info/event/8367408

The New York Public Library will present “Introduction to African-American Genealogy Research” on Thursday, May 25 at 1 p.m. From 1565 to 1790, Africans comprised over a third of the roughly one million newcomers to what would become the United States.  With little exception, these nearly 360,000 men, women, and children crossed in bondage.  Centuries of local and federal laws related to the livelihood of black Americans have created a complex paper trail of genealogical resources.  This class aims to provide introductory historical context and recommend basic research methods in the pursuit of African-American family history.

To register, go to: https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2022/05/25/introduction-african-american-genealogy-research-0

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Jewish heritage festival to include genealogy lectures

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The Museum of Jewish Heritage, located at 36 Battery Place in Manhattan, will host “A Celebration of Genealogy, Heritage, & Immigration” on Sunday,  May 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The day-long Mishpachah Festival will focus on Ashkenazi heritage and will celebrate and explore Jewish genealogy, heritage, and immigration with JewishGen, the Museum’s Jewish Genealogical Research Division. The festival will feature music, activities for kids and families, Jewish genealogy lectures, cooking demonstrations, Jewish heritage panels, and more.

As part of the festival, JewishGen experts will present a series of talks. Talks will last 25-minutes with questions. Before or after their presentations, the speakers will be available to answer questions in the Resource Area, which will be open from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm.

*10 a.m. – Belarus Research Division

*10:30 a.m. –  German Research Division

*11 a.m.  –  Holocaust Collection & JOWBR (Burial Registry)

*11:30 a.m. – Gesher Galicia & JRI Poland

*12 p.m. – Hungary Research Division

*12:30 p.m. – Romania Research Division

*3:30 – p.m. – Ukraine Research Division

*4 p.m.  – United States Research Division

*4:30 p.m. –  Yizkor Books/JewishGen Press

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Several free genealogy webinars to cover Prussian research, court records

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Several free webinars will take place this week covering Mexican-American ancestors, female ancestors and name changes.

The Allen County Public Library will present “Court Records Research Without a Law Degree” on Tuesday, May 16 at 2:30 p.m. Court records are an underutilized genealogical resource.  Discover how to explore courthouses (no law degree required) to find records involving your ancestors.

To register, go to: https://acpl.libnet.info/event/8367247

Legacy Family Tree Webinars will present “Name Changes and the Law” on Tuesday, May 16 at 8 p.m. Names weren’t changed at Ellis Island, but in courts, legislatures and elsewhere both formally and officially — and on the fly. As genealogists, we need to know why names were changed, and how those changes might be recorded, if we want to have a chance at finding out what’s in a name.

To register, go to:  https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/name-changes-and-the-law/

The Wisconsin State Genealogical Society will present “Searching for Your Elusive Prussian Ancestor” on Tuesday, May 16 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Prussia once controlled parts of what are now modern Germany and Poland. Gain a better understanding of historical Prussia in the pursuit of records with numerous examples and resources.

To register for the webinar, go to: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1138575504007930128

The Utah Genealogical Association will present “Finding the Living” on Thursday, May 18 at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Locating Cousins, Heirs, Next of Kin, and DNA Matches are just some of the reasons to find living people. Discover the tools and techniques used to find and make the connections you are looking for. 

To register, go to: https://ugagenealogy.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ynjq6fl5QmWWSWRQuAl3OQ#/registration

The Florida State Genealogical Society will present “Finding Female Ancestors” on Thursday, May 18 at 8 p.m. “What’s her maiden name?” “What happened to her after her husband died?” “How do I start researching my great-grandmother?” We’ve all felt the disappointment of seeing the word “unknown” to describe a female ancestor’s name. How do we go from “unknown” to finding a name? This presentation will explain techniques, methodology, and resources vital to family history research. Enhance your research skills using a 5-step approach to researching (and finding) female ancestors.

To register, go to: https://fsgs.org/future-webinars/her-name-was-not-unknown-finding-female-ancestors-18-may-2023/

Legacy Family Tree Webinars will present “Your 19th and 20th Century Mexican Ancestors in the U.S.” on Friday, May 19 at 2 p.m. Historical records and social history paint a rich picture of the lives of our Mexican ancestors who were in the U.S. after the mid-19th century. A new border, new laws, a violent revolution, two world wars, and changing economic and political conditions significantly impacted your Mexican ancestors who came to or were born in the United States.

To register, go to: https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/your-19th-20th-century-mexican-ancestors-in-the-u-s/

The Western New York Genealogy Society will present “How To Write Ancestral Stories Your Relatives Will Want to Read” on Saturday, May 20 at 10:30 a.m. Part of the thrill of genealogy is sharing our discoveries with those we love, so it can be disappointing when our family members and friends have no interest in the subject. However, with good research, thoughtful planning, and a dash of ingenuity, we can create engaging stories designed to entice even the most reluctant readers. Topics include how to breathe life into dry genealogical facts, choosing a compelling story structure, making decisions that enhance the quality of the writing, and presenting what you’ve written in an appealing way.

To register, go to: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYlduyhrTIiGNMy_Rli6kDbxEWH2QK0bjJ9#/registration

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12 May 2023 Free access to Newspapers.com this weekend

Free access to Newspapers.com this weekend

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In honor of Mother’s Day, Newspapers.com is offering free access to its website from now until  Monday, May 15 at 1:59 a.m. Eastern time.

Maybe you can find the women in your family in birth or marriage announcements, social news, photos or even the classifieds.

You must create a free user name and password to access the images.

To get started searching, go to: https://go.newspapers.com/moms/

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Several free genealogy webinars to cover German research, passenger lists

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Several free webinars will be offered this week covering: German genealogy,  passenger lists and Huguenots.

The Genealogy Club of Newtown (CT) will present “Researching Military Records and More on Fold3” on Wednesday, May 10 at 7 p.m.  There will be an overview of the site’s content and then a step-by-step demonstration  of how to navigate the site with research strategies for military and non-military documents. There will also be a discussion about memorial pages for ancestors who served in the military.

To register for the program, email genclubnewtown.secretary@gmail.com

American Ancestors will present “Huguenot Family Research” on Thursday, May 11 at 3 p.m. The Huguenots were French Protestants persecuted by a staunchly Catholic government. Thousands fled France in the 16th and 17th centuries seeking refuge across Europe, Africa, and North America including areas of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina. Learn more about these religious refugees, where they came from and where they settled in America, and how to research them using several published resources.

To register, go to: https://hubs.americanancestors.org/huguenot-family-history-research-and-resources

Allen County Public Library will present “Passenger Manifest Letters and Numbers” on Thursday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m. What do those letters, numbers, stamps, and pencil marks mean on Immigration Passenger Manifests? Does your ancestor have the letter “D” or “X” next to their name? Do you know what V/L, # 404, USB, Transit, CL, N.O.B, C/A, LPC, SI, NQIV, BSI, PV or C-XXXXX mean? We will learn if and when to contact the US National Archives or USCIS to get more genealogical information from these codes. And what insight we can learn about your ancestor’s immigration experience based on these notations.

To register, go to: https://acpl.libnet.info/event/8367189

Georgia Genealogical Society will present “My Black Sheep: Finding Truth in Family Stories” on Thursday, May 11 at 8 p.m. Take a walk with the presentation through her great-grandfather’s life and the records he left behind to discover what truth lies in the family stories that were told.

To register, go to: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcsfuCqrzMsHdHK9UaH1jzLFOj66VDj_xXe#/registration

San Diego Genealogical Society will present “German Genealogy on the Internet” and “Methods for Identifying the German Origins of American Immigrants” on Saturday, May 13 at 1 p.m. Eastern time. This lecture will discuss some online sites that all German genealogists should be aware of. American sites will be covered, but a strong concentration on lesser- used German sites will be discussed. If all you know from conventional records is “Germany” as a place of origin, then this lecture will help you mine other resources to locate WHERE in Germany your ancestor came from.

To register, go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0A-55XdbQzK4pHIaqEGjNA#/registration

Legacy Family Tree Webinars will present “Records of the American Protective League” on Friday, May 12 at 2 p.m. The APL was organized in Chicago, IL in 1917 by citizens who believed the United States Department of Justice was understaffed and not up to the task of fighting against espionage. The APL was given absolute power to stop ordinary citizens in the streets by checking whether men were legally registered for draft, or were sympathetic to the Germans, or those unregistered aliens living in the United States. The group documented both members and their activities in rich genealogical and historical details at the time the United States entered World War I.

 

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MyHeritage offers free access to U.K. historical records

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To celebration the coronation of King Charles III, MyHeritage.com is offering free access to its historical records from the U.K. from now through Monday. May 8, 2023.

There are 635 collections including birth, marriage, and death records, census records, baptisms, wills and probate records, military records, and more.

The collections span several centuries of history and cover England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man.

You will need to create a free user name and password to review the records. To start searching, go to: https://www.myheritage.com/research/category-United-Kingdom/united-kingdom-genealogy-vital-records

 

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Several free genealogy webinars to cover cemetery records, railroad records

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Several free webinars will take place this week covering cemetery records, Evernote and railroad records.

The San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society will present “The Brick Wall Buster Technique” on Tuesday, May 2 at 8 p.m  The Brick Wall Buster Cards Technique coaches you through the best methods to gain traction in your genealogy research without feeling overwhelmed, spending a lot of money, or taking specialized classes to learn how. Using this system, you’ll be a dynamo of genealogy planning and researching, problem-solving for those tough problems a.k.a. brick walls, and writing your results and your ancestor’s biography.

To register, go to: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3641057369635874573

The Minnesota Genealogical Society will present “Breathing New Life into Your Boring Ancestors” on Wednesday, May 3 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Many genealogists will say they have boring ancestors because they can’t find records or information for them. Learn from a seasoned genealogist and archivist how to locate records and information to bring those boring ancestors back to life! Records such as vertical files, manuscript collections, school records, voting records, and more will be covered in this presentation.

To register, go to: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_S5hWgfWPRbW_bAACv4Ys4Q#/registration

JewishGen will present “Patronymic Naming and Cemetery Records” on Wednesday, May 3 at 2 p.m. Headstone inscriptions provide one of the most important tools for those researching  Jewish genealogical history, patronymic naming. This presentation will familiarize the attendees with the evolution of family surnames and the practice of patronymic naming. There will be an actual case study using headstone inscriptions and will show participants online resources to help find headstone information worldwide. There will be examples of headstones and an explanation of the meaning of symbols that you will find on stones. Even if you can’t read Hebrew, learn how you can understand the inscriptions.

To register, go to: https://898a.blackbaudhosting.com/898a/JewishGen-Talks-Patronymic-Naming-and-Cemetery-Records—Their-Importance-in-Jewish-Genealogy

Legacy Family Tree Webinars will present “Working on the Railroad” will take place on Friday, May 5 at 2 p.m. The Pullman Company was one of the leading employers of African Americans, primarily male Porters, who worked on the railroad in the late 19th and early 20th century. This presentation will look briefly at the general growth of the railroad as well as the Pullman Company which built rail cars and rented them to rail companies.  To register, go to: https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/working-on-the-railroad-pullman-porters-and-maids/

The London and Middlesex Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society will present “Introduction to Evernote for Genealogy” on Saturday, May 6 at 10 a.m. Evernote puts all your notes right at your fingertips no matter where you are. In addition to super fast and easy note taking and retrieval, you’ll learn how to clip items from the Internet (rather than saving entire bulky web pages!) and use OCR technology to search your digitized documents like newspaper articles.

To register, go to: https://londonmiddlesex.ogs.on.ca/events/london-middlesex-branch-introduction-to-evernote-for-genealogy/

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