The recording of today's entertaining, educational, and humorous webinar, "Searching for Surnames: Challenges, Pitfalls and the Downright Ridiculous," by Kirsty Gray is now available to view for free for a limited time at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com. A few comments from our viewers:

• A pleasure to be reminded again of how creative one needs to be when researching - and all the many reasons 'errors' creep in!  Thanks once more for a great webinar!
• Excellent presentation with a lot of good humor!  Very informative as well as entertaining!
• Great tips. Thanks esp. for talking about wildcards -- I forget this so often! (Also love the accent.) The visuals were also very good and illuminating.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 24 minute recording of "Searching for Surnames: Challenges, Pitfalls and the Downright Ridiculous" is now available to view in our webinar archives for free for a limited time. It is also available to our monthly or annual Webinar Members for the duration of your membership. Visit www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com to watch. The 2 pages of handouts are also available for annual/monthly webinar subscribers.

Special Discount Coupon

The special discount coupon of surnames that was announced during the webinar is valid for 10% off anything at both www.LegacyFamilyTreeStore.com and www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com through Monday, March 3, 2014.

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

• On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 221 hours of genealogy education)
• On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 572 pages)
• 5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout, and yes, you can also use the 10% off webinar coupon above for a total of 15% off)
• Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
• Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar

Introductory pricing:

• Annual membership: $49.95/year (that's about the cost of 5 webinar CDs)
• Monthly membership: $9.95/month

Click here to subscribe.

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

• Genealogy and Technology - State of the Union by Barbara Renick. March 1.
• Using Google Earth for Genealogy by Lisa Louise Cooke. March 5.
• Sources and Citations Made Simple, Standard, and Powerful by Geoff Rasmussen. March 7.
• Some Lesser Known Irish Resources by Judy Wight. March 12.
• 50 Most Popular Genealogy Websites by Kory Meyerink. March 19.
• 7 Habits of Highly Frugal Genealogists by Thomas MacEntee. April 2.
• Get Organized Using the FamilyRoots Organizer Color-Coding System by Mary Hill. April 9.
• Estate Records - More Than Just Wills by Linda Woodward Geiger. April 11.
• Genealogy Evidence and Online Family Trees by Karen Clifford. April 16.
• The Homestead Act of 1862 by Thomas MacEntee. April 23.
• Google Glass and Family History by Devin Ashby. April 30.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. May 2.
• 50 Year View - What I've Learned Climbing My Family Tree by Tom Kemp. May 7.
• Photo Apps for Android, iPhones or iPads by Maureen Taylor. May 14.
• I Had My DNA Tested - Now What? by Ugo Perego. May 21.
• Using Tax Lists to Solve Genealogical Problems by Linda Woodward Geiger. May 28.
• German Internet Research: A Launching Place for Your Research. June 11.
• 10 Ways to Jumpstart Your Family History Narrative by Lisa Alzo. June 13.
• Copyright Mythconceptions by Judy Russell. June 18.
• Documenting Native American Families in 19th and 20th Century Records by Angela Walton-Raji. June 25.
• Thinking About Becoming a Board-certified Genealogist? by Elissa Scalise Powell. July 9.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. July 11.
• When Freedom Came - Documenting the Family's Freedom Story by Angela Walton-Raji. July 16.
• Researching Your Illinois Ancestors by Thomas MacEntee. July 23.
• Researching Your Tennessee Ancestors by J. Mark Lowe. August 6.
• Research Recharge - Turning Old Clues into New Leads by Lisa Alzo. August 8.
• Find A Grave - The World's Largest Cemetery Database by Russ Worthington. August 20.
• Researching Your Italian Ancestors by Ruth Merriman. August 27.
• Researching Your Jewish Ancestors by Jennifer Alford. September 3.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. September 5.
• Success with Manuscript Sources by Barbara Renick. September 10.
• Evaluating Evidence and Resolving Discrepancies by Kory Meyerink. September 17.
• A Library at Your Fingertips - the Internet Archive by Maureen Taylor. September 24.
• The Fair Court: Records of Chancery Courts by Judy Russell. October 1.
• Overcoming Destroyed or Missing Records by Karen Clifford. October 3.
• Welcome to FamilySearch Indexing! by Devin Ashby. October 8.
• Researching Your War of 1812 Ancestor by Thomas MacEntee. October 15.
• Tracking Migration Using the Draper Manuscripts by Mary Hill. October 22.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. November 14.
• Using Evernote for Genealogy by Lisa Louise Cooke. November 19.
• Family History for Kids by Devin Ashby. December 3.
• Look Ma, No Hands! Using Dragon Naturally Speaking for Your Genealogy by Ivan Baugh. December 5.
• Researching Your North Carolina Ancestors by J. Mark Lowe. December 10.
• Bagging a Live One - Connecting with Cousins You Never Knew You Had by Mary Kircher Roddy. December 17.

Click here to register. Or click here register for multiple webinars at the same time.

Print the 2014 webinar brochure here.

See you online!

FamilySearch has added close to 4.2 million indexed records and images to collections from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Honduras, Italy, New Zealand, Peru, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 543,676 images from the Brazil, São Paulo, Immigration Cards, 1902-1980, collection; the 499,702 indexed records and images from the New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Probate Records, 1848-1991, collection; and the 264,610 images from the United Kingdom, World War I Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Records, 1917-1920, collection. See the table below for the full list of updates. Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.

Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the worldís historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Join us this Wednesday AND Saturday for two exciting genealogy webinars presented by Kirsty Gray and Barbara Renick. On Wednesday, Kirsty will present "Searching for Surnames: Challenges, Pitfalls and the Downright Ridiculous" and on Saturday Barbara will present "Genealogy and Technology - State of the Union."

Wednesday - Searching for Surnames: Challenges, Pitfalls and the Downright Ridiculous by Kirsty Gray

With increased indexing and transcription of records, often linked to digitized images on free and commercial websites, searching for an individual or collecting references to everyone holding a particular surname is much easier now, isn't it? Using a variety of sites to try to discover details about those elusive ancestors, creative searching is a must and this webinar will uncover some of the investigative methods needed as well as the more challenging transcriptions the genealogist has to work with, whilst still being enormously grateful that they are available to us online!

Click here to register.

Saturday - Genealogy and Technology - State of the Union by Barbara Renick

There are definable trends today in the application of technology to genealogy. The buzzword for 2014 is SYNERGY: [Google’s definition] the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents [technology] to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. This lecture looks at the trends in technology, their applications in genealogy, and the synergy between organizations that impact the ways we’ll do genealogy in the near future. This is being broadcast live from the Orange County California Genealogical Society's 2nd Annual Genealogy Bash.

Click here to register.

Webinar Reminder: Join us for the live webinars Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at 2pm Eastern U.S. and Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 5:30pm Eastern U.S. Register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1,000 people to join that day. Before joining, please visit www.java.com to ensure you have the latest version of Java which our webinar software requires. When you join, if you receive a message that the webinar is full, you know we've reached the 1,000 limit, so we invite you to view the recording which should be published to the webinar archives within an hour or two of the event's conclusion.

Test Your Webinar Connection

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 free for the first 7 days after the live event. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access for the duration of their membership.

Add it to your Google Calendar

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 webinars will be live on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 and Saturday, March 1, 2014 at:

Wednesday

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific
• 7pm GMT

Saturday

• 5:30pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 4:30pm Central
• 3:30pm Mountain
• 2:30am Pacific
• 10:30pm GMT

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. Make sure you have the latest version of Java installed on your computer. Check at www.java.com.
6. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
7. 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.
8. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

If you are interested in learning about a genealogy cruise, watch the recording of today's webinar, "Cruising with Legacy Family Tree in 2014!" by our cruise coordinator, Steve Downing. He got me that much more anxious for our October 2014 cruise to Asia.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 56 minute recording of "Cruising with Legacy Family Tree in 2014!" is now available to view in our webinar archives for free. Visit www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com to watch.

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

• Searching for Surnames: Challenges, Pitfalls and the Downright Ridiculous by Kirsty Gray. February 26.
• Genealogy and Technology - State of the Union by Barbara Renick. March 1.
• Using Google Earth for Genealogy by Lisa Louise Cooke. March 5.
• Sources and Citations Made Simple, Standard, and Powerful by Geoff Rasmussen. March 7.
• Some Lesser Known Irish Resources by Judy Wight. March 12.
• 50 Most Popular Genealogy Websites by Kory Meyerink. March 19.
• 7 Habits of Highly Frugal Genealogists by Thomas MacEntee. April 2.
• Get Organized Using the FamilyRoots Organizer Color-Coding System by Mary Hill. April 9.
• Estate Records - More Than Just Wills by Linda Woodward Geiger. April 11.
• Genealogy Evidence and Online Family Trees by Karen Clifford. April 16.
• The Homestead Act of 1862 by Thomas MacEntee. April 23.
• Google Glass and Family History by Devin Ashby. April 30.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. May 2.
• 50 Year View - What I've Learned Climbing My Family Tree by Tom Kemp. May 7.
• Photo Apps for Android, iPhones or iPads by Maureen Taylor. May 14.
• I Had My DNA Tested - Now What? by Ugo Perego. May 21.
• Using Tax Lists to Solve Genealogical Problems by Linda Woodward Geiger. May 28.
• German Internet Research: A Launching Place for Your Research. June 11.
• 10 Ways to Jumpstart Your Family History Narrative by Lisa Alzo. June 13.
• Copyright Mythconceptions by Judy Russell. June 18.
• Documenting Native American Families in 19th and 20th Century Records by Angela Walton-Raji. June 25.
• Thinking About Becoming a Board-certified Genealogist? by Elissa Scalise Powell. July 9.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. July 11.
• When Freedom Came - Documenting the Family's Freedom Story by Angela Walton-Raji. July 16.
• Researching Your Illinois Ancestors by Thomas MacEntee. July 23.
• Researching Your Tennessee Ancestors by J. Mark Lowe. August 6.
• Research Recharge - Turning Old Clues into New Leads by Lisa Alzo. August 8.
• Find A Grave - The World's Largest Cemetery Database by Russ Worthington. August 20.
• Researching Your Italian Ancestors by Ruth Merriman. August 27.
• Researching Your Jewish Ancestors by Jennifer Alford. September 3.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. September 5.
• Success with Manuscript Sources by Barbara Renick. September 10.
• Evaluating Evidence and Resolving Discrepancies by Kory Meyerink. September 17.
• A Library at Your Fingertips - the Internet Archive by Maureen Taylor. September 24.
• The Fair Court: Records of Chancery Courts by Judy Russell. October 1.
• Overcoming Destroyed or Missing Records by Karen Clifford. October 3.
• Welcome to FamilySearch Indexing! by Devin Ashby. October 8.
• Researching Your War of 1812 Ancestor by Thomas MacEntee. October 15.
• Tracking Migration Using the Draper Manuscripts by Mary Hill. October 22.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. November 14.
• Using Evernote for Genealogy by Lisa Louise Cooke. November 19.
• Family History for Kids by Devin Ashby. December 3.
• Look Ma, No Hands! Using Dragon Naturally Speaking for Your Genealogy by Ivan Baugh. December 5.
• Researching Your North Carolina Ancestors by J. Mark Lowe. December 10.
• Bagging a Live One - Connecting with Cousins You Never Knew You Had by Mary Kircher Roddy. December 17.

Click here to register. Or click here register for multiple webinars at the same time.

Print the 2014 webinar brochure here.

See you online!

Today's webinar goes down as one of the best genealogy classes ever. First of all, it was Judy Russell. Second, she taught a concept that opened an entirely new genealogy resource to so many viewers. If you have not viewed any of our webinars, this is the one to start with. A few comments from our viewers:

• Absolutely one of the very best (if not THE very best) webinars to date!
• FANTASTIC ! ! ! ! !  Never in my life did I think about bonds to research. How interesting. Maybe this will help me with some pending questions I have had for a very long time. Judy gave so many ideas for types of documents. THANK YOU VERY MUCH !!!
• Judy is knowledgeable and is able to convey her knowledge in a concise and clear manner so that all laymen can understand her. I am a certified genealogist specializing in North Carolina research and I learned a few things too. Thank you.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 29 minute recording of "The Ties That Bond" is now available to view in our webinar archives for free for a limited time. It is also available to our monthly or annual Webinar Members for the duration of your membership. Visit www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com to watch. The 6 pages of handouts are also available for annual/monthly webinar subscribers.

Special Discount Coupon

The special discount coupon of bond that was announced during the webinar is valid for 10% off anything at both www.LegacyFamilyTreeStore.com and www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com through Monday, February 24, 2014.

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

• On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 219 hours of genealogy education)
• On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 570 pages)
• 5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout, and yes, you can also use the 10% off webinar coupon above for a total of 15% off)
• Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
• Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar

Introductory pricing:

• Annual membership: $49.95/year (that's about the cost of 5 webinar CDs)
• Monthly membership: $9.95/month

Click here to subscribe.

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

• Cruising with Legacy Family Tree in 2014. February 21.
• Searching for Surnames: Challenges, Pitfalls and the Downright Ridiculous by Kirsty Gray. February 26.
• Genealogy and Technology - State of the Union by Barbara Renick. March 1.
• Using Google Earth for Genealogy by Lisa Louise Cooke. March 5.
• Sources and Citations Made Simple, Standard, and Powerful by Geoff Rasmussen. March 7.
• Some Lesser Known Irish Resources by Judy Wight. March 12.
• 50 Most Popular Genealogy Websites by Kory Meyerink. March 19.
• 7 Habits of Highly Frugal Genealogists by Thomas MacEntee. April 2.
• Get Organized Using the FamilyRoots Organizer Color-Coding System by Mary Hill. April 9.
• Estate Records - More Than Just Wills by Linda Woodward Geiger. April 11.
• Genealogy Evidence and Online Family Trees by Karen Clifford. April 16.
• The Homestead Act of 1862 by Thomas MacEntee. April 23.
• Google Glass and Family History by Devin Ashby. April 30.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. May 2.
• 50 Year View - What I've Learned Climbing My Family Tree by Tom Kemp. May 7.
• Photo Apps for Android, iPhones or iPads by Maureen Taylor. May 14.
• I Had My DNA Tested - Now What? by Ugo Perego. May 21.
• Using Tax Lists to Solve Genealogical Problems by Linda Woodward Geiger. May 28.
• German Internet Research: A Launching Place for Your Research. June 11.
• 10 Ways to Jumpstart Your Family History Narrative by Lisa Alzo. June 13.
• Copyright Mythconceptions by Judy Russell. June 18.
• Documenting Native American Families in 19th and 20th Century Records by Angela Walton-Raji. June 25.
• Thinking About Becoming a Board-certified Genealogist? by Elissa Scalise Powell. July 9.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. July 11.
• When Freedom Came - Documenting the Family's Freedom Story by Angela Walton-Raji. July 16.
• Researching Your Illinois Ancestors by Thomas MacEntee. July 23.
• Researching Your Tennessee Ancestors by J. Mark Lowe. August 6.
• Research Recharge - Turning Old Clues into New Leads by Lisa Alzo. August 8.
• Find A Grave - The World's Largest Cemetery Database by Russ Worthington. August 20.
• Researching Your Italian Ancestors by Ruth Merriman. August 27.
• Researching Your Jewish Ancestors by Jennifer Alford. September 3.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. September 5.
• Success with Manuscript Sources by Barbara Renick. September 10.
• Evaluating Evidence and Resolving Discrepancies by Kory Meyerink. September 17.
• A Library at Your Fingertips - the Internet Archive by Maureen Taylor. September 24.
• The Fair Court: Records of Chancery Courts by Judy Russell. October 1.
• Overcoming Destroyed or Missing Records by Karen Clifford. October 3.
• Welcome to FamilySearch Indexing! by Devin Ashby. October 8.
• Researching Your War of 1812 Ancestor by Thomas MacEntee. October 15.
• Tracking Migration Using the Draper Manuscripts by Mary Hill. October 22.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. November 14.
• Using Evernote for Genealogy by Lisa Louise Cooke. November 19.
• Family History for Kids by Devin Ashby. December 3.
• Look Ma, No Hands! Using Dragon Naturally Speaking for Your Genealogy by Ivan Baugh. December 5.
• Researching Your North Carolina Ancestors by J. Mark Lowe. December 10.
• Bagging a Live One - Connecting with Cousins You Never Knew You Had by Mary Kircher Roddy. December 17.

Click here to register. Or click here register for multiple webinars at the same time.

Print the 2014 webinar brochure here.

See you online!

Everyone is still talking about her recent RootsTech keynote, and now you can listen to her from your computer this Wednesday - live! Join us this Wednesday, February 19, for a free webinar with The Legal Genealogist's Judy Russell, JD, CG, CGL. She will present "The Ties That Bond."

Webinar Description

From marriage bonds to officials’ bonds, sureties given in a wide variety of circumstances can offer clues to our family members and their friends, associates and neighbors. Learn what they are, how to find them, and how to use them in building your family's FAN club.

Join us for the live webinar Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at 2pm Eastern U.S. Register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1,000 people to join that day. Before joining, please visit www.java.com to ensure you have the latest version of Java which our webinar software requires. When you join, if you receive a message that the webinar is full, you know we've reached the 1,000 limit, so we invite you to view the recording which should be published to the webinar archives within an hour or two of the event's conclusion.

Download the syllabus

In preparation for the webinar, download Judy's 6 pages of supplemental syllabus materials here. They include:

• What is a bond?
• Why are bonds so valuable for genealogical research?
• What types of bonds are there?
• Glossary
• Selected resources on bonds
• Clickable links to the recommended websites.

The syllabus is available for annual or monthly webinar subscribers. Log in here or subscribe here.

Or register for multiple webinars at once by clicking here.

Test Your Webinar Connection

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 free indefinitely. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

About the presenter

A genealogist with a law degree, Judy G. Russell is a lecturer, educator and writer who enjoys helping others understand a wide variety of genealogical issues, including the interplay between genealogy and the law. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and journalism from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and a law degree from Rutgers School of Law-Newark, and holds Certified Genealogist and Certified Genealogical Lecturer credentials from the Board for Certification of Genealogists where she serves as a member of the Board of Trustees. She has worked as a newspaper reporter, trade association writer, legal investigator, defense attorney, federal prosecutor, law editor and, for more than 20 years, Judy has been an adjunct member of the faculty at Rutgers Law School. Judy is a Colorado native with roots deep in the American south on her mother’s side and entirely in Germany on her father’s side. Visit her website at www.legalgenealogist.com.

Watch Judy's previous webinars here.

Add it to your Google Calendar

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, February 19, 2014 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific
• 7pm GMT

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. Make sure you have the latest version of Java installed on your computer. Check at www.java.com.
6. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
7. 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.
8. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Thinking of joining us for our 11th annual Legacy Genealogy Cruise this October? Join us this Friday, February 21, for a free webinar to get an overview of the cruise and have any of your questions answered.

Join us for the live webinar Friday, February 21, 2014 at 2pm Eastern U.S. Register today to reserve your virtual seat. Registration is free but space is limited to the first 1,000 people to join that day. Before joining, please visit www.java.com to ensure you have the latest version of Java which our webinar software requires. When you join, if you receive a message that the webinar is full, you know we've reached the 1,000 limit, so we invite you to view the recording which should be published to the webinar archives within an hour or two of the event's conclusion.

Or register for multiple webinars at once by clicking here.

Test Your Webinar Connection

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 free indefinitely. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

About the presenter

Steve and Christy Downing own and manage Trekalot Travel, a cruise destination specialist, specializing in group cruisers. For the last 11 years they have organized the cruise destinations for our Legacy Family Tree groups. They have a passion for helping people fulfill their dream cruise experiences.

Learn more about the cruise here.

Add it to your Google Calendar

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 Friday, February 21, 2014 at:

• 2pm Eastern (U.S.)
• 1pm Central
• 12pm Mountain
• 11am Pacific
• 7pm GMT

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. Make sure you have the latest version of Java installed on your computer. Check at www.java.com.
6. Check your GoToWebinar connection here.
7. 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.
8. Listen via headset (USB headsets work best), your computer speakers, or by phone.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Wow, even I got choked up during this webinar. The recording of today's enjoyable and emotional webinar, "Family Stories: Using Newspapers to Reconnect with the Stories of Your Family's Past" by Tom Kemp is now online to view for free for a limited time. A few comments from our viewers:

• The most moving examples of newspaper stories I have ever seen, and Tom has the most mellifluous voice, so they are also the most moving I have ever heard.
• Fascinating stories that are available to round out the people. Will have to go back to his previous webinars for the how to, especially the citations.
• The stories were all so touching and I could almost feel the emotions that they felt in their days.
• Wow!! needed the Kleenex today. Thank Tom and Geoff for another great webinar.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 27 minute recording of "Family Stories: Using Newspapers to Reconnect with the Stories of Your Family's Past" is now available to view in our webinar archives for free for a limited time. It is also available to our monthly or annual Webinar Members for the duration of your membership. Visit www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com to watch.

GenealogyBank.com offer

Visit www.genealogybank.com/webinar for 25% off an annual membership. Offer expires February 16, 2014.

Special Discount Coupon

The special discount coupon of news3 that was announced during the webinar is valid for 10% off anything at both www.LegacyFamilyTreeStore.com and www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com through Monday, February 17, 2014.

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

• On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 217 hours of genealogy education)
• On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 564 pages)
• 5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout, and yes, you can also use the 10% off webinar coupon above for a total of 15% off)
• Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
• Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar

Introductory pricing:

• Annual membership: $49.95/year (that's about the cost of 5 webinar CDs)
• Monthly membership: $9.95/month

Click here to subscribe.

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

• The Ties That Bond by Judy Russell. February 19.
• Cruising with Legacy Family Tree in 2014. February 21.
• Searching for Surnames: Challenges, Pitfalls and the Downright Ridiculous by Kirsty Gray. February 26.
• Genealogy and Technology - State of the Union by Barbara Renick. March 1.
• Using Google Earth for Genealogy by Lisa Louise Cooke. March 5.
• Sources and Citations Made Simple, Standard, and Powerful by Geoff Rasmussen. March 7.
• Some Lesser Known Irish Resources by Judy Wight. March 12.
• 50 Most Popular Genealogy Websites by Kory Meyerink. March 19.
• 7 Habits of Highly Frugal Genealogists by Thomas MacEntee. April 2.
• Get Organized Using the FamilyRoots Organizer Color-Coding System by Mary Hill. April 9.
• Estate Records - More Than Just Wills by Linda Woodward Geiger. April 11.
• Genealogy Evidence and Online Family Trees by Karen Clifford. April 16.
• The Homestead Act of 1862 by Thomas MacEntee. April 23.
• Google Glass and Family History by Devin Ashby. April 30.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. May 2.
• 50 Year View - What I've Learned Climbing My Family Tree by Tom Kemp. May 7.
• Photo Apps for Android, iPhones or iPads by Maureen Taylor. May 14.
• I Had My DNA Tested - Now What? by Ugo Perego. May 21.
• Using Tax Lists to Solve Genealogical Problems by Linda Woodward Geiger. May 28.
• German Internet Research: A Launching Place for Your Research. June 11.
• 10 Ways to Jumpstart Your Family History Narrative by Lisa Alzo. June 13.
• Copyright Mythconceptions by Judy Russell. June 18.
• Documenting Native American Families in 19th and 20th Century Records by Angela Walton-Raji. June 25.
• Thinking About Becoming a Board-certified Genealogist? by Elissa Scalise Powell. July 9.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. July 11.
• When Freedom Came - Documenting the Family's Freedom Story by Angela Walton-Raji. July 16.
• Researching Your Illinois Ancestors by Thomas MacEntee. July 23.
• Researching Your Tennessee Ancestors by J. Mark Lowe. August 6.
• Research Recharge - Turning Old Clues into New Leads by Lisa Alzo. August 8.
• Find A Grave - The World's Largest Cemetery Database by Russ Worthington. August 20.
• Researching Your Italian Ancestors by Ruth Merriman. August 27.
• Researching Your Jewish Ancestors by Jennifer Alford. September 3.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. September 5.
• Success with Manuscript Sources by Barbara Renick. September 10.
• Evaluating Evidence and Resolving Discrepancies by Kory Meyerink. September 17.
• A Library at Your Fingertips - the Internet Archive by Maureen Taylor. September 24.
• The Fair Court: Records of Chancery Courts by Judy Russell. October 1.
• Overcoming Destroyed or Missing Records by Karen Clifford. October 3.
• Welcome to FamilySearch Indexing! by Devin Ashby. October 8.
• Researching Your War of 1812 Ancestor by Thomas MacEntee. October 15.
• Tracking Migration Using the Draper Manuscripts by Mary Hill. October 22.
• Legacy Family Tree - Virtual User's Group Meeting by Legacy Family Tree Panel. November 14.
• Using Evernote for Genealogy by Lisa Louise Cooke. November 19.
• Family History for Kids by Devin Ashby. December 3.
• Look Ma, No Hands! Using Dragon Naturally Speaking for Your Genealogy by Ivan Baugh. December 5.
• Researching Your North Carolina Ancestors by J. Mark Lowe. December 10.
• Bagging a Live One - Connecting with Cousins You Never Knew You Had by Mary Kircher Roddy. December 17.

Click here to register. Or click here register for multiple webinars at the same time.

Print the 2014 webinar brochure here.

See you online!

We have another great new update for our Legacy Family Tree 8 users (free) for you to download. This update adds new FamilySearch-certified tools such as Sources, Discussions, Change History, and more. It also addresses minor issues that you have reported since our initial release of Legacy 8.

See the download instructions below for step-by-step instructions on installing this update.

What's New

FamilySearch Family Tree Interaction. FamilySearch's Family Tree is a collaborative online tree where researchers interact with a large, unified database of connected genealogical information. It is one of the must-visit sites to compare what you know about an ancestor with what others have shared. Legacy's FamilySearch tools provide the ability to:

• Check and compare the FamilySearch Family Tree for possible matches with your ancestor.
• Link your Legacy person to the Family Tree person so Legacy can monitor for any changes/updates made by other researchers. Legacy can also "Auto Match" your Legacy file.
• Add your Legacy person to the Family Tree for others to view. Maybe you will find a new cousin or two!
• Share information you might have about an ancestor already in the Family Tree. You can help fill in the gaps or missing information for someone else.
• Download information that others have published. A complete citation is added to any information you download so you know exactly where it came from.
• Know how "complete" your genealogy is. The percentage tracker can help you manage your genealogy projects so you are not so overwhelmed.
• LDS members:
  • Reserve and print Family Ordinance Requests (FORs)
  • Organize and share ordinance cards with friends and family

To get started, turn on the FamilySearch option in Legacy by going to Options > Customize > General Settings > and turn on the option to "Integrate with FamilySearch". Of course, this tool is completely optional.

Then click on the FamilySearch button on the My Toolbar tab:

After logging in, Legacy searches FamilySearch Family Tree for any possible matches and displays them for you to compare:

If they appear to be the same person, click on the "This person is the same as mine" button. Then you optionally can share information back and forth:

Looks like FamilySearch has some burial information about my Carrie May Gekeler that I didn't know about previously. I could click on the green arrow to add this to my Legacy family file, or I could just use it as a clue for me to verify. Morris Hill Cemetery is not too far from where I live, so maybe I'll go check this out this afternoon.

FamilySearch Family Tree is available to everyone - give it a try today by downloading today's Legacy update.

What's Been Fixed

View the February 4 release notes here. 

How to Update

For our Deluxe Edition users, all you have to do is connect to the Internet, start Legacy 8, and click on the "Install and Download Now" link on the Legacy Home tab. (If you're reading this from within the Legacy Home tab inside of Legacy 8, you'll first need to click on the Home button in the top left of the Legacy Home tab which looks like the following picture:

If you are a Standard Edition Legacy user, you will need to visit our website. Go to http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/DownloadUpdate.asp and follow the instructions.

We are pleased to announce that our Legacy Family Tree software has received "Tree Share" certification from FamilySearch, and is now the only genealogy software to be both FamilySearch Family Tree certified and include built-in Research Guidance to help researchers continue their efforts even beyond FamilySearch.

What is FamilySearch Family Tree?

FamilySearch Family Tree is the latest offering from FamilySearch which helps researchers to publish and share their genealogical findings and collaborate with others. It is free and available to everyone.

Legacy Family Tree makes the experience of working with FamilySearch Family Tree easier by letting you share information back and forth between the two (completely optional). For LDS users, Legacy adds the ability to more easily keep track of the additional information and ordinance reservation.

What is Legacy's Research Guidance?

When you have exhausted the resources of FamilySearch, Legacy's built-in Research Guidance takes you to the next step. It analyzes what is already known about your ancestor, and then builds a prioritized custom To Do List for you. It suggests the best records to help you solve your research problems, explains what you would expect in the new records, and points you to the right repository or website. Many of the suggestions even provide the specific call number at the Family History Library. For more information, watch the Research Guidance section of the Legacy for Beginners video here.

How do I get started with Legacy's FamilySearch tools?

If you do not yet have Legacy 8, download the free edition (FamilySearch tools are available at no charge) or purchase the Deluxe edition.

If you already have Legacy 8 on your computer, click on the link in the Updates section of the Legacy Home tab or click here.

After installing the update, look for the FamilySearch button in your main toolbar. If it is not there after installing the next update, go to Options > Customize > General Settings > FamilySearch to turn it on.