We've tallied the numbers and made a list of the Top 10 most-watched FamilyTreeWebinars.com classes for September 2023! Are your favorite topics or instructors among the list? Need something new to learn? Use the list to get inspired!

Each month thousands of Legacy Family Tree Webinar subscribers head for the library to learn new skills and techniques to help improve their genealogy research. Among the now-2,075 genealogy classes in the members-only library, these were the most watched during the month of September 2023.  They aren't necessarily the newest classes but rather the topics that were sought out by our members.

Have you seen any of these classes? Are these among your favorites too? Some of these classes (and topics) might be new to you! Get inspired to learn more and make your genealogy journey more fun!

The Top 10 for September 2023

1. Using Negative Evidence: The Power of Silence in the Records by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL

2. Turning Witnesses into Evidence by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL

3. Y DNA Discover Tool - What News Can Your Haplogroup Reveal? by Roberta Estes

4. Case Study: Finding My 3rd Great Grandfather: How X-DNA Led the Way by Mary Eberle, JD

5. Connecting Generations through Probate and Property by Teri E. Flack, M.A. (Public History), M.B.A.,

6. Life Cycle of a Record: From Clerks and Clerics to You The Digital User by Cyndi Ingle

7. So, You Think You Know All About City Directories? by Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FMGS, FUGA

8. DNA Matchmaking Made Easy on MyHeritage by Shannon Combs-Bennett

9. Understanding Predicted Relationships at the DNA Testing Sites by Michelle Leonard

10. Following Oral History in search of William Davis but finding Mildred Brand: A Case Study by Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy

The Runner-Ups

11. 10 Places to Search for An Ancestor's Death Date... Without a Death Certificate by Elizabeth Swanay O’Neal

12. Follow the Trail of Records and DNA from Ireland to Oregon (1810-1860) by Karen Stanbary, MA, LCSW, CG®, BCG Trustee

13. What Happened to Uncle Walter? Evidence Analysis and Correlation Uncover a Man's Dual Identities by Sharon Hoyt, CG

14. Finding John Lee by Nicka Smith

15. Explore Your Ancestors' Names in the MyHeritage 'Newspaper Name Index' by James M. Beidler

16. 3-2-1 data backup is great but first you need to find all of your data by Thomas MacEntee

17. Hidden Roots in Your DNA: Adoptee Success & Surprise Discoveries by Richard Hill

18. Genealogy Escape Room: The Case of the Only Name Change at Ellis Island by Thomas MacEntee

19. Problem Solving in the Problem-Riddled Carolina Backcountry by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL

20. Even More 50 Mostly "Hot off the Press" Net Sites You Want to Check Out by Diane L Richard, MEng & MBA

The 2nd Runner-Ups

21. Setting Sail with Your Seafaring Ancestors by Denise E. Cross, MSLIS, CG

22. 10 Things To Do Before Leaving a Library or Archives by Melissa Barker

23.Hidden Treasure in New England Town Records by Ann G. Lawthers, Sc.D.

24. Diving into the Newly Released 1931 Canada Census by Mike Mansfield

25. Power of place – using MyHeritage to tell the stories of buildings & places by Rhonda Lauritzen

26. How to Catch a Criminal: Finding Records for Your Rogue Relatives Downunder by Kristy Love, PhD

27. Capturing their Stories: Best Practices for Recording Family History Interviews by Colleen Robledo Greene, MLIS

28. Following a Quaker Family: New Jersey to Iowa the Long Way Around by Annette Burke Lyttle

29. A Revolutionary War Case Study: Joseph L. Harper by Craig R. Scott, MA, CG, FUGA

30. Worth More than Gold or Silver - MyHeritage's U.S. Naturalization Records Northern California 1852-1989 Collection by Sharon Monson

Access to classes in the Legacy Family Tree Webinar library are available with an webinar membership. Not a member? Become one! Or watch one of our free classes here.

The #1 rated webinar in September 2023

After each live webinar, viewers rate the webinar on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest). This month's #1 rated webinar is:

So, You Think You Know All About City Directories? by Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FMGS, FUGA

Congrats to Paula!

This presentation examines the lure of gold discoveries in various Australian states in the 19th century. Many people travelled down under to try and make their fortunes but didn’t realise just how hard it was working on Australian gold fields. Mining records and newspapers can be used to trace miners and to understand their way of life.

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Tuesday, October 3, 2023 at:

• 9pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 8pm Central
• 7pm Mountain
• 6pm Pacific

which, in Sydney is Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at:

• 12pm

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
6. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
7. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Webinar Shorts are a new bonus feature for members at Legacy Family Tree Webinars that provide you with genealogy classes in 20 minutes or less.  Enjoy this new Webinar Short "Excel Tips for DNA Analysis: How to Make a DNA Citation Template" by Paul Woodbury, MEd., AG.

Webinar Short Description

Learn how to automatically create citations for your DNA matches to help you in organizing your genetic genealogy research efforts.

About the Presenter

The recording of today's webinar by Diane L. Richard, "Even More 50 Mostly “Hot off the Press” Net Sites You Want to Check Out” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

Continuation of: (1) Fifty Overlooked Genealogical Resources in Fifty Minutes (2) 50 Mostly “Hot off the Press” Net Sites You Want to Check Out! There are so many off-the-beaten-path websites to help genealogists, regardless of skill level and target location, that we still haven’t explored yet!

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
6. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
7. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

We've explored possibilities for telling your family story in the last two blog articles. We've looked at the written word and video. In this article, I want to focus on another way to tell your family story: audio.

How Can You Tell Your Family Story Via Audio?

Most genealogists are familiar with conducting and recording oral interviews. With mobile devices, capturing audio recordings is easy. Most mobile devices have the built-in ability to record audio files, but you can download a recording app and even add an external mic, though it's unnecessary. If you'd rather not use our mobile device, you can use Skype, Zoom, or other programs to record audio from your computer.

How can you conduct an oral interview? It can be as simple as asking a few questions to start a conversation. The Legacy Webinars, Capturing their Stories: Best Practices for Recording Family History Interviews by Colleen Robledo Greene, MLIS and Nicka Smith's The Ultimate Family History Interview can help you with preparing and conducting your interviews.

Audio recordings don't have to be only interviews. You can record yourself talking about memories or stories. Is your family musical? You could record some of the music your family creates. The type and topic of the recording are only limited by your imagination.

Once your audio files are recorded, you can either upload the files to a cloud software program to be available to other family members or edit the files and create your family podcast. Articles online can help you through the steps of creating a podcast, including How to Record Your Own Family History Podcast from Family Tree Magazine.

If you create a family podcast, consider using a blog to add the link, transcription, and any records or images accompanying the episode. That way, your family can listen to the podcast and see any images you are describing or help tell the story.

Other opportunities exist for recording interviews. Programs like Story Corps encourage families to record stories in their studios or with the Story Corps App. The Story Corp website includes "great questions" to ask to get the conversation started.

For those planning a trip to Salt Lake City, The FamilySearch Library (previously known as the Family History Library) has a recording studio where you can record in audio or video. Some FamilySearch Centers also offer a recording studio.

What Story Will You Tell?

Can you utilize audio files for your family history story? Yes! Sometimes, you can use text, video, and audio files to tell the story your family is waiting for. Take some time to consider what family stories you want to tell and how to best do them. I'd love to hear your ideas. Please post them in the comments below.

Gena Philibert-Ortega is an author, instructor, and researcher. She blogs at Gena's Genealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera. You can find her presentations on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website.

The recording of today's webinar by Thomas MacEntee, "Genealogy Escape Room: The Case of the Only Name Change at Ellis Island” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

The recording of today's webinar by the Board for Certification of Genealogists and Karen Stanbary, MA, LCSW, CG®, "Follow the Trail of Records and DNA from Ireland to Oregon (1810-1860)” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com/BCG for free for a limited time.

Imagine you are trapped in an archive and the only way out is to solve a series of genealogy research puzzles. Are you up to the challenge? Are you ready for Genealogy Escape Room™? Based on the popular escape room concept, Genealogy Escape Room™ turns the typical webinar format upside down! Each registrant will receive a Case Review File used to solve a series of online research tasks BEFORE the live webinar takes place. The webinar is the “reveal” where a step-by-step review of each puzzle, task, and clue all the way to the final “key” to open the door. Genealogy methodology concepts will be summarized before announcing who escaped first! The Case of Frank Woodhull: The Only Name Change at Ellis Island. You may have heard in a family story that a family’s surname or even a person’s given name was changed upon arrival in the United States at Ellis Island. This “urban legend” has been discussed and debunked for decades in the genealogy community. Since an immigrant’s name MUST match the ship’s manifesto, most name changes took place AFTER the person was successfully admitted. The change could have been done simply by adopting a new name or by selecting a new name during the citizenship process. But … there is ONE case of a name change of an immigrant at Ellis Island and that person is Frank Woodhull who arrived at New York City on October 4th, 1908. Follow an amazing research journey with twists and turns and you’ll find out how Woodhull lived under an assumed name in the United States for almost 15 years before his fateful return to the US from a holiday in England.

Here’s the link to your Case Review File.

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Wednesday, September 20, 2023 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
6. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
7. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

A deep dive into the records narrates a family’s journey. Advanced methodology and DNA reconstruct the forgotten family.

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 at:

• 8pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 7pm Central
• 6pm Mountain
• 5pm Pacific

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
6. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
7. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Happy day for those with family in Canada in 1931! MyHeritage has announced its publication of the 1931 Canadian census collection, which includes a complete new index created by MyHeritage. This collection, which contains information on 10.4 million individuals living in Canada in 1931, is the latest addition to MyHeritage's vast collection of Canadian historical documents, now encompassing 175 collections with 113.7 million records in total.

The search engine worked its magic and I found my wife's grandmother living in Alberta:

Search the census here.

Read the entire article here.

The recording of today's webinar by Denise E. Cross, MSLIS, CG, "Setting Sail with Your Seafaring Ancestors” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

This lecture explores a variety of tools and resources for tracking sea faring ancestors along with examples from research, including: maritime primary sources and collections, vessel types, tracing captains and crews through newspaper reports, following their journeys by plotting ships logs’ latitude and longitude records, and adding context to their lives through historic events affecting mariners. The focus is on nineteenth century records and events.

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Wednesday, September 13, 2023 at:

• 8pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 7pm Central
• 6pm Mountain
• 5pm Pacific

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
6. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
7. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!

The recording of today's webinar by Rhonda Lauritzen, "Power of place – using MyHeritage to tell the stories of buildings & places” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free.

This workshop will guide researchers through a series of steps and stops to find the history of buildings and places. Follow some case studies and learn how to find excellent records in MyHeritage, the steps to follow followed, and the ideal interplay between primary and secondary sources. Also, learn pro-tips for writing a compelling narrative. This presentation will inspire attendees with the power that the places of our ancestors have to draw us near and to strengthen a sense of community.

To ensure that your webinar connection is ready to go, click here.

Can't make it to the live event?

No worries. Its recording will be available for a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

With our Google Calendar button, you will never forget our upcoming webinars. Simply click the button to add it to your calendar. You can then optionally embed the webinar events (and even turn them on and off) into your own personal calendar. If you have already added the calendar, you do not have to do it again - the new webinar events will automatically appear.

Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific

Or use this Time Zone Converter.

Here's how to attend:

1. Register at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com today. It's free!
2. You will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the webinar.
3. You will receive a reminder email both 1 day and 1 hour prior to the live webinar.
4. Calculate your time zone by clicking here.
5. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
6. Click on the webinar link (found in confirmation and reminder emails) prior to the start of the webinar. Arrive early as the room size is limited to the first 1,000 arrivals that day.
7. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone. 

We look forward to seeing you all there!