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October 2015

Using Periodicals to Find Your Ancestors - free webinar by Gena Philibert-Ortega now online for limited time

2015-09-30-image500blog

The recording of today's webinar, "Using Periodicals to Find Your Ancestors" by Gena Philibert-Ortega PLUS the after-webinar party is now available to view for free at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com.

Periodicals can fill in the pieces between the birth and death of your ancestor. Whether the information is biographical, a transcription, or reporting on an event, periodicals provide rich detail about your ancestor’s life. In this webinar we will discuss the types of periodicals that exist and what indexes (JSTOR, PERSI and others)  to use to find articles.

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 38 minute recording of "Using Periodicals to Find Your Ancestors" PLUS the after-webinar party is now available to view in our webinar library for free for a limited time. Or watch it at your convenience with an annual or monthly webinar membership.

Coupon code

Use webinar coupon code - periodicals - for 10% off anything at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com or www.LegacyFamilyTreeStore.com, valid through Monday, October 5, 2015.

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

  • On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 267 classes, 405 hours of genealogy education)
  • On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 1,187 pages)
  • On-demand access to the live webinars' chat logs
  • 5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout)
  • Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
  • Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar
  • Access to register for bonus members-only webinars
  • Ability to view which webinars you are registered for

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)

  • Wearables and Genealogy - Wacky and Wild or Worth the Wait by Thomas MacEntee. October 7.
  • Colonial Immigration - The English Pioneers of Early America by Beth Foulk. October 14.
  • Billions of Records, Billions of Stories by Devin Ashby. October 16.
  • What Happened to the State of Frankland - Using Tennessee's Pre-Statehood Records by Mark Lowe. October 21.
  • Complex Evidence - What is It? How Does it Work? And Why Does it Matter? by Warren Bittner. October 28.
  • Researching with Karen! by Karen Clifford. November 4.
  • Organizing Your Genetic Genealogy by Diahan Southard. November 11.
  • Bringing it All Together and Leaving a Permanent Record by Tom Kemp. November 13.
  • Mapping Madness by Ron Arons. November 18.
  • Stories in Stone - Cemetery Research by Gail Blankenau. December 2.
  • Thinking about Becoming an Accredited Genealogist? by Apryl Cox and Kelly Summers. December 9.
  • Pointing Fingers at Ancestors' Siblings - Breaking Down Brick Walls with Collateral Research by Marian Pierre-Louis. December 16.

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

Print the 2015 webinar brochure here.

See you online!


Register for Webinar Wednesday - Using Periodicals to Find Your Ancestors by Gena Philibert-Ortega

Logowhite

Periodicals can fill in the pieces between the birth and death of your ancestor. Whether the information is biographical, a transcription, or reporting on an event, periodicals provide rich detail about your ancestor’s life. In this webinar we will discuss the types of periodicals that exist and what indexes (JSTOR, PERSI and others)  to use to find articles.

Join us and Gena Philibert-Ortega for the live webinar Wednesday, September 30, 2015 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 the supplemental syllabus materials here. The syllabus is available for annual or monthly webinar subscribers. Log in here or subscribe here.

Registerbut

Or register for multiple webinars at once by clicking here.

Not sure if you already registered?

On the Upcoming Webinars tab, login to view the webinars you are already signed up for (available for annual or monthly webinar subscribers).

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 a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

About the presenter

GenaOrtega-144x144Gena Philibert-Ortega holds a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (Psychology and Women’s Studies) and a Master’s degree in Religion. Presenting on various subjects involving genealogy, women’s studies, and social history, Gena has spoken to groups throughout the United States as well as virtually to audiences worldwide. Gena is the author of hundreds of articles published in genealogy newsletters and magazines including FGS Forum, APG Quarterly, Internet Genealogy, Family Chronicle, Family Tree Magazine, GenWeekly and the WorldVitalRecords newsletter. Her writings can also be found on her blogs, Gena’s Genealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera. She is the author of the books, From The Family Kitchen (F + WMedia, 2012), Cemeteries of the Eastern Sierra (Arcadia Publishing, 2007) and Putting the Pieces Together. Gena is the editor of the Utah Genealogical Association’s journal Crossroads. An instructor for the National Institute for Genealogical Studies, Gena has written courses about social media and Google. She serves as a board member of the Utah Genealogical Association. Her current research interests include women’s social history, community cookbooks, signature quilts and researching women’s lives using material artifacts. Gena Philibert-Ortega is the author of IDG’s monthly column, Remember the Ladies: Researching Your Female Ancestor. 

Click here to view Gena's other webinars.

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, September 30, 2015 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. 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!


Connecting with Cousins Abroad part 2: Epic Day for a Genealogist

Guest blogger Eric Stroschein is currently in Stockholm, Sweden connecting with relatives and researching his ancestry. This is the second of a series of articles from his visit to the old country. You can read his first article here.

Sweden-2a

With much envy and jealousy I, like many, have read the exploits of great genealogists, like David Rencher, tell their stories of their “Best Day Ever” as a family historian. I believed my odds of something epic happening to me would be somewhere between hitting the lotto or getting stuck by lighting twice and living to tell about it. Unlikely, but possible.

Through the website Rötters, I found Per Svantsson. He is the husband of my second cousin twice removed Christina. Per is retired and he and Christina live in the south of Sweden in the town of Nye. He is an avid genealogist and loves to collect the stories of his and Christina’s ancestors.

Karen[1], Tedd[2], and I had made arrangements to meet up with Per and Christina in the small village of Vikingstad. It is located in the middle of Sweden near the larger city of Lingköpping. This area is extremely rich in Swedish culture and history. Many archeological finds date back to the 9th century. There is currently a Bronze Age dig happening in the area.

We got to the meeting spot a little early, the Sjögestad Motell. This is one of the oldest operating motels in Sweden and is located on the “old road” from Stockholm to Göteborg. From this spot we could see the Viby church in the distance. Per and Christina soon arrived. Tedd and I were meeting our cousin for the first time. Cristina is a vibrant woman with a great sense of humor and wit. Per was very tall and extremely energetic, he was boiling over with excitement. Per had a big day planned for us so he quickly got us in order. He came prepared with handouts and maps. He had done his research and had a plan.

 

At Viby with Per, Christina, and Tedd
At Viby with Per, Christina, and Tedd

We first jumped in the cars and drove the few kilometers to Viby Parish. Here the church or kyrka (pronounced shur-ka) was built about 1300 and had a very well maintained church grounds and graveyard surrounded by an impressive 4 foot high rock wall. Most all churches in Sweden are surrounded by a similar type of rock wall made from the rock indigenous to the area. Usually a mix of granite and basalt.

My sixth great parents Per Lundström (1710-1778) and Kjerstin Svensdotter (1721-1783) were married and are buried at Viby kyrka. Per Lundström is the oldest known ancestor in the Hogner line. His son was the first member of my family to have the Huggner name. For the most part Sweden used a patronymic naming system up until the early 20th century. This system caused some confusion in the military so the government started giving soldiers “military names.” My fifth great grandfather Anders Persson (son of Per) was given the name Huggner, meaning a cavalry man. Military men were allowed to keep their names after their term of service was done. Anders did just that and became Anders Huggner. This can cause complications in Swedish genealogical research because sometimes you will see in the record a person switching back and forth between names.

Sadly the stones for Per and Kjerstin no longer exist. In Sweden it is a common practice to recycle graves that are old and are no longer visited by family. The old stones are sometimes lined up on the inside of the stone walls, sometimes piled up behind the grounds keeper's shed, and sometimes the headstones are recycled into new grave markers or even made into cobblestones to be used around the grounds.

 

Viby kyrka (church) built about 1300 BC.
Viby kyrka (church) built about 1300 BC.

Next we were back to the motel parking lot talking a bit about the historical significance this area holds in Sweden and about the “old road” to Stockholm. Per said, “Follow me,” and we went on a little walk south to see the “really old road” between Stockholm and Göteborg. This road dates back to at least 900 AD and was a deep cut in the landscape from centuries of use and erosion. Here is where we found several Rune Stones that had been carved by the ancient Vikings. Each were marked with a plaque denoting its significance and interpretation of the old writing.

After, we walked north of the motel to a Ryttaretorp or Cavalry farm. This was part of a system of military farms or Soldatorps that were all over Sweden. Men in the military were expected to help grow the food needed for them and their horses as well as maintain their military readiness. These farms were a way to spread the military out among the countryside to have better preparedness in the event of invasion. There were different farms for the infantry, navy, grenadiers, etc. A building on the farm where the men stayed was called a croft. We looked at a couple of crofts on the little farm near the motel. Most of these farms have been sold off to private people and are used as homes and small hobby farms. Many of the old buildings are still used today and have been remodeled into homes, garages, sheds, etc.

We walked back to the cars and Per directed us to follow him to another farm south of Vikingstad called Lilla Harg (small Harg). This is where my fourth great grandfather Anders Huggner was a cavalryman. The croft where he stayed is still there. It has been moved, added on to, and remodeled over the years. A wonderful family owns the property and they were gracious enough to allow us to tour the property. To be on the grounds where my ancestors walked made me feel very connected to them. I thought this was my epic moment, my best day ever story. Then we were invited into the home and were allowed to see the inside of the old croft. Many of the old features where still visible, like the vertical four inch thick hand hewn logs that were used as a prominent design feature of this lovely old home. The original fireplaces were still there. One room of the house still had the original wood floor intact. Once again I got to walk in the footsteps of my forefathers. The old building is as solid today as it was in the 1700’s. What an incredible experience and all because I connected with cousins abroad.

By now it was time for lunch and Per hinted at having an even bigger surprise for later. We drove back to the motel where we met more cousins, Per and Christina’s son and wife, Erik and Lotta. Erik is my third cousin once removed. It was delightful to meet up with Erik and have lunch at the motel. Tedd and Erik hit it off and were talking about Erik’s job working for a drone and aircraft manufacturing company. Karen and I spoke with my family about a wide range of subjects including genealogy.

The croft at Lilla Harg
The croft at Lilla Harg

After lunch we followed Erik to his house which was about a 15 minute drive over twisting and winding narrow back country roads of Sweden. Erik has a new Mini Cooper which he proceeded to race down the roads which made for a bit of an adventure getting there.

Erik and Lotta’s home is on the site of an old grist mill on the Black River. It is beautifully picturesque and as part of their landscaping they used the old grist stones that were found buried in the soil as prominent features. The old wash house has become the boat house next to the river. Their home has an intriguing history attached to it.

The day seemed like a blur and it was time for “fika.” Fika is the time Swedish people take for coffee and a pastry. It is a big deal in Sweden, everybody must fika. As we sat down to a nice cup of coffee and a fresh blueberry pie prepared by Lotta, Per brought out a notebook and we started to discuss more members of the Hogner family. He handed both Tedd and me a packet of information and copies of photographs of our family in Sweden. It was incredible to see my second great grandparents and all of their children.

The day so far could have been considered an awesome day by any measure but what happened next left me speechless and stirred emotions in me that are hard to put into words. Per presented me with a copy of my second great grandfather’s memoirs. Nearly 200 pages of his words describing his life of nearly 80 years. These pages explain my Hogner family in details that were unknown to me. The memoirs answer so many questions, yet like most evidence found in genealogy, generates many, many more. It will take me years to explore, corroborate, and document the information contained in the memoirs. It sheds light on some of the myths and rifts that have occurred in the family. The pages are chocked full of love, intrigue, betrayal, triumph, and tragedy. This is a genealogical mother lode. This was like winning the lotto, my best day ever.

While still reeling from this fantastic surprise, Per asked me if I could handle one more. I told him I was game for just about anything. He then presented with the photo album of Elsa Hogner the sister of my great grandfather. I was completely blown away. It had photos of my family back to my third great grandparents Per Gustav Hogner (1815-1897) and Margaretha Carlen (1823-1880). Not only did I get to look at them but my cousin Tedd was given permission to professionally photo document and preserve the pictures. What an incredible gift. Yes, lighting can strike twice. I am living proof.

My head is still spinning from the massive amounts of information, mementos, and generosity given to me by my cousin Christina and her husband Per. I am forever grateful and indebted to them. I have been the recipient of some truly remarkable gifts, and all because I took advice and found cousins. I can only describe this day as epic and now I have my own “Best Day Ever” as a family historian tale to tell. Now I am off to buy a Swedish lotto ticket.

If you missed part one of this article be sure to read it here.


Eric Stroschein is a Forensic Genealogist. He specializes in resolving difficult genealogical questions. Eric is very active in Swedish genealogical research and has resolved many difficult problems for clients. He is especially adept at finding the origins of Swedish immigrant ancestors. Learn more about him at GenerationsDetective.com.



[1] The first and only wife of Eric Stroschein. Yes I have the documentation to prove it.

[2] Tedd Soost is my second cousin and a professional photographer in Stockholm. www.Soost.com


Maps Tell Some of the Story for the African-Ancestored Genealogist - free webinar by Angela Walton-Raji now online for limited time

2015-09-25-image500blog

The recording of today's webinar, "Maps Tell Some of the Story for the African-Ancestored Genealogist" by Angela Walton-Raji is now available to view for free at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com.

This session illustrated how geography can tell you things unknown about your ancestral community and help provide a critical background for the family narrative.

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 37 minute recording of "Maps Tell Some of the Story for the African-Ancestored Genealogist" is now available to view in our webinar library for free for a limited time. Or watch it at your convenience with an annual or monthly webinar membership.

Coupon code

Use webinar coupon code - freedom3 - for 10% off anything at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com or www.LegacyFamilyTreeStore.com, valid through Monday, September 28, 2015.

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

  • On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 266 classes, 403 hours of genealogy education)
  • On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 1,178 pages)
  • On-demand access to the live webinars' chat logs
  • 5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout)
  • Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
  • Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar
  • Access to register for bonus members-only webinars
  • Ability to view which webinars you are registered for

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)

  • Using Periodicals to Find Your Ancestors by Gena Philibert-Ortega. September 30.
  • Wearables and Genealogy - Wacky and Wild or Worth the Wait by Thomas MacEntee. October 7.
  • Colonial Immigration - The English Pioneers of Early America by Beth Foulk. October 14.
  • Billions of Records, Billions of Stories by Devin Ashby. October 16.
  • What Happened to the State of Frankland - Using Tennessee's Pre-Statehood Records by Mark Lowe. October 21.
  • Complex Evidence - What is It? How Does it Work? And Why Does it Matter? by Warren Bittner. October 28.
  • Researching with Karen! by Karen Clifford. November 4.
  • Organizing Your Genetic Genealogy by Diahan Southard. November 11.
  • Bringing it All Together and Leaving a Permanent Record by Tom Kemp. November 13.
  • Mapping Madness by Ron Arons. November 18.
  • Stories in Stone - Cemetery Research by Gail Blankenau. December 2.
  • Thinking about Becoming an Accredited Genealogist? by Apryl Cox and Kelly Summers. December 9.
  • Pointing Fingers at Ancestors' Siblings - Breaking Down Brick Walls with Collateral Research by Marian Pierre-Louis. December 16.

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

Print the 2015 webinar brochure here.

See you online!


What the Heck Does It Say?? 5 Tips for Deciphering Old Handwriting!

We genealogists are often faced with handwritten records that are a challenge to read. Sometimes the writing is cramped and tiny. Sometimes the letter formations are unfamiliar. Sometimes the document and ink is faded. Sometimes it is simply bad handwriting and looks like nothing more than a scribble! What's a genealogist to do?

5 Tips for Deciphering Old Handwriting

When you are trying to decipher challenging handwriting there are a few simple methods you can use.

1. Compare other words and letters in the record. You may have to look a few pages ahead or back to get a good overall comparison of letter formations used. If you think a letter is a “C” for example, check for a “C” word you recognize and compare the formation of that letter to your unknown letter.

2. Put a blank white paper over the words on your screen or on the page and trace it. Do this several times. Then look at your tracing. Often the words or letters become clear when isolated from the rest of the document.

3. If you are using a microfilm reader, place a pastel sheet of paper over the screen. Pale yellow or pink seem to work best to make the writing more legible.

4. Consider the record source. What country is it for? That will help you figure out possibilities for locations. It is best if you know a specific area. For example if I know a record is for the County of Simcoe in Ontario, Canada and not for Kent County in England or New York State in the USA I can narrow the possible location names in the record.  Also different countries wrote their letters in different ways. German writing for example is very different from American or British.

5. Determine when the document was written. Handwriting changed over centuries and thus a word written a certain way in 1630 for example will not be written the same way in 1730 or 1830 and so on.

EXAMPLES

 Letter formations changed greatly over time. For example during the mid 19th century, any word with a double "s"  was formed in such a way that to our eyes it appears as if it is "fs"

  LFT Double S.jpg

Image courtesy of Etobicoke Historical Board, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

In the image above, written ca 1860 in Quebec, Canada, the text reads "Married Wm. Massey". Note how the double "s" in Massey looks like "fs"

Also, if the document was written in a different language and country, it is wise to familiarize yourself with that country’s letter formations over the years.

This next example is the church entry of the baptism record of my 11th great-grandmother Martha Barrett in England in 1598. I knew the recording of her event was somewhere on the page of church baptisms but where? It took me awhile to find her on the page but by scrutinizing the handwriting of all the entries I was eventually able to recognize her first name Martha and the surname Barrett.

LFT bpt Barrett Martha Barritt bpt 1598

Image courtesy of FindMyPast.com

The baptismal entry reads: 28 of October was baptised Martha ye daughter of Henrie Barrett

HELPFUL LINKS

A Handwriting Tutorial is online from FamilySearch

Book: Reading Early American Handwriting by Kip Sperry

Examples of early (16th & 17th Century) Dutch letter formations at Olive Tree Genealogy


Register for Webinar Friday - Maps Tell Some of the Story for the African-Ancestored Genealogist by Angela Walton-Raji

Celebrating 150 years of freedom for all Americans in the concluding webinar of our Freedom Webinar Series!

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This session, taught by Angela Walton-Raji, will illustrate how geography can tell you things unknown about your ancestral community and help provide a critical background for the family narrative.

View the entire Freedom Webinar Series:

Join us and Angela Walton-Raji for the live webinar Friday, September 25, 2015 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 the supplemental syllabus materials here. The syllabus is available for annual or monthly webinar subscribers. Log in here or subscribe here.

Registerbut

Or register for multiple webinars at once by clicking here.

Not sure if you already registered?

On the Upcoming Webinars tab, login to view the webinars you are already signed up for (available for annual or monthly webinar subscribers).

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 a limited time. Webinar Subscribers have unlimited access to all webinar recordings for the duration of their membership.

About the presenter

AngelaWalton-Raji144x144A founding member of AfriGeneas.com, Ms. Walton-Raji is also a genealogist specializing in information for beginners, via daily and weekly online genealogy chats on AfriGeneas. As host of a weekly genealogy podcast, a number of instructional videos and as an expert consultant on video documentaries, Ms. Walton-Raji combines her skills as a genealogist with a warm on camera personality that brings comfort to her viewers through and her instructional videos on YouTube, while providing them with useful information. She is a published author, host of 3 blogs, in addition to a 10-year ongoing message board, 3 websites, and The African Roots Podcast.

Add it to your Google Calendar

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Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Friday, September 25, 2015 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. 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!


Researching Your Ancestors in England and Wales - free webinar by Kirsty Gray now online for limited time

2015-09-23-image500blog

The recording of today's webinar, "Researching Your Ancestors in England and Wales" by Kirsty Gray is now available to view for free at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com.

Taking you through the basics by examining record groups including censuses, civil registration, parish registers and probate, Kirsty Gray highlights the online and offline resources available to today’s genealogist researching in the last four centuries in England and Wales.

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 41 minute recording of "Researching Your Ancestors in England and Wales" PLUS the after-party is now available to view in our webinar library for free for a limited time. Or watch it at your convenience with an annual or monthly webinar membership.

Coupon code

Use webinar coupon code - england2 - for 10% off anything at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com or www.LegacyFamilyTreeStore.com, valid through Monday, September 28, 2015.

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

  • On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 265 classes, 402 hours of genealogy education)
  • On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 1,178 pages)
  • On-demand access to the live webinars' chat logs
  • 5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout)
  • Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
  • Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar
  • Access to register for bonus members-only webinars
  • Ability to view which webinars you are registered for

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)

  • Maps Tell Some of the Story for the African-Ancestored Genealogist by Angela Walton-Raji. September 25.
  • Using Periodicals to Find Your Ancestors by Gena Philibert-Ortega. September 30.
  • Wearables and Genealogy - Wacky and Wild or Worth the Wait by Thomas MacEntee. October 7.
  • Colonial Immigration - The English Pioneers of Early America by Beth Foulk. October 14.
  • Billions of Records, Billions of Stories by Devin Ashby. October 16.
  • What Happened to the State of Frankland - Using Tennessee's Pre-Statehood Records by Mark Lowe. October 21.
  • Complex Evidence - What is It? How Does it Work? And Why Does it Matter? by Warren Bittner. October 28.
  • Researching with Karen! by Karen Clifford. November 4.
  • Organizing Your Genetic Genealogy by Diahan Southard. November 11.
  • Bringing it All Together and Leaving a Permanent Record by Tom Kemp. November 13.
  • Mapping Madness by Ron Arons. November 18.
  • Stories in Stone - Cemetery Research by Gail Blankenau. December 2.
  • Thinking about Becoming an Accredited Genealogist? by Apryl Cox and Kelly Summers. December 9.
  • Pointing Fingers at Ancestors' Siblings - Breaking Down Brick Walls with Collateral Research by Marian Pierre-Louis. December 16.

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

Print the 2015 webinar brochure here.

See you online!


Tuesday's Tip - Tips and Tricks

Legacy Family Tree Tuesday's Tip -Tips and Tricks

Tuesday's Tips provide brief how-to's to help you learn to use the Legacy Family Tree software with new tricks and techniques.

Tips and Tricks

If you go to HELP > HELP INDEX look over on the right and you will see a section labeled TIPS AND TRICKS.

TipsandTricks-1

Now click GENERAL TIPS AND TRICKS.

TipsandTricks-2

This is my favorite section. There are a lot of features that you might not figure out on your own, little shortcuts and tricks that will make you happy.

In this section you'll find these tips, all with easy to understand graphics :

  • Family View Tips
  • More Family View Tips
  • Descendant View Tips
  • Pedigree View Tips
  • Chronology View Tips
  • Index View Tips
  • Information Screen Tips
  • Name List Tips
  • Detail Tab
  • Edit Tab
  • Events Tab
  • Sources Tab
  • LDS Tab
  • Print Preview Tips
  • Address Screen Tips
  • Master Location List Tips
  • Marriage Information Tips
  • Media Gallery Tips
  • Other Tips

Find tech tips every day in the Facebook Legacy User Group. The group is free and is available to anyone with a Facebook account.

For video tech tips checkout the Legacy Quick Tips page.  These short videos will make it easy for you to learn all sort of fun and interesting ways to look at your genealogy research.

 

Michele Simmons Lewis is part of the technical support team at Millennia, the makers of the Legacy Family Tree software program. With over 20 years of research experience, Michele’s passion is helping new genealogists get started on the right foot through her writings, classes and lectures. She is the former staff genealogist and weekly columnist for the McDuffie Mirror and now authors Ancestoring, a blog geared toward the beginner/intermediate researcher.


Register for Webinar Wednesday - Researching Your Ancestors in England and Wales by Kirsty Gray

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Do you have ancestors from England or Wales? Learn how to trace your roots this Wednesday.

With increased digitization of genealogical records in England and Wales, documents relating to your ancestors are far more readily available but how are the records structured? Where are they located? And what information can be gleaned from these primary sources? Taking you through the basics by examining record groups including censuses, civil registration, parish registers and probate, Kirsty Gray highlights the online and offline resources available to today’s genealogist researching in the last four centuries in England and Wales.

Join us and Kirsty Gray for the live webinar Wednesday, September 23, 2015 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.

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In preparation for the webinar, download the supplemental syllabus materials here. The syllabus is available for annual or monthly webinar subscribers. Log in here or subscribe here.

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Or register for multiple webinars at once by clicking here.

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On the Upcoming Webinars tab, login to view the webinars you are already signed up for (available for annual or monthly webinar subscribers).

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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.

About the presenter

KirstyGray-144x144Kirsty is a professional genealogist and Heir Hunter who runs her own research companyFamily Wise Limited. As a freelance author, she has published articles in family, local and social history magazines and handbooks across the globe. She has been researching the story of her paternal West Country family for many years and, having realised in the late 1990s that her eccentric hobby was called a surname study, co-founded The Surname Society (registering the Sillifant surname) in 2014 to meet the needs of surname studiers in the 21st century.

In 2011, Kirsty took over from Penny Christensen as Director of English Studies for the National Institute for Genealogical Studies, updating previous courses and expanding the provision for online genealogical research courses about English records.

Having published Tracing Your West Country Ancestors in 2013, Kirsty is now working on Tracing Your Industrial Ancestors with Pen and Sword Books and is a founder member and was initially Chair (now Secretary) of the Society for One-Place Studies, an international society for family and local historians.

Although a relative youngster in the field of genealogy, Kirsty has been involved in family history for almost two decades and has lectured on various stages from local to international. Having traded in her day job as a teacher to follow her passion, Kirsty is widely sought after as a family history tutor, lecturer and motivational speaker in the UK.

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, September 23, 2015 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. 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!


Three Tips for Finding Your Pennsylvania Ancestors Online

Pennsylvania has an abundance of resources for genealogists, and the good news is that many of them can now be accessed online. Here are three tips to unlock information about your Keystone ancestors in digitized record collections.

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1. Start with FamilySearch.  It’s no secret that FamilySearch  is often the first online stop for many genealogists. For the Pennsylvania researcher, there are plenty of records available in the free digitized collections on the FamilySearch website http://www.familysearch.org.  You can either or click the “Browse All Collections” link then “United States” and “Pennsylvania.” Here are the current collections (Note: Be sure to read the description of each collection to learn how complete it is as not all records may be included, and note the date the collection was last updated).

 Pennsylvania Obituaries, 1977-2010

Pennsylvania Obituary and Marriage Collection, 1947-2010

Pennsylvania, Births and Christenings, 1709-1950  

Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950

Pennsylvania, Crew Lists arriving at Erie, 1952-1957         

Pennsylvania, Eastern District Naturalization Indexes, 1795-1952

Pennsylvania, Eastern District Petitions for Naturalization, 1795-1931

Pennsylvania, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1866-1956

Pennsylvania, Landing Reports of Aliens, 1798-1828         

Pennsylvania, Marriages, 1709-1940

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Case Files of Chinese Immigrants, 1900-1923

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Births, 1860-1906 

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Death Certificates, 1803-1915     

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Marriage Indexes, 1885-1951  

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger List Index Cards, 1883-1948

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists Index, 1800-1906       

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1882     

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1883-1945     

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Seamen's Proofs of Citizenship, 1791-1861

Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh City Deaths, 1870-1905   

Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994

 To access the list of collections for Pennsylvania, go to https://familysearch.org/search/collection/list/?page=1&countryId=23

 

Below is a passenger list record I found for my great-grandfather Jan Alzo found in the on Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger List Index Cards, 1883-1948 collection on FamilySearch.

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"Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Passenger List Index Cards, 1883-1948," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KF82-K2K : accessed 7 September 2015), Jan Alzo, 1898; citing Immigration, NARA microfilm publication T526 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,380,256.

 

Also, don’t forget to check the FamilySearch Wiki for Pennsylvania https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Pennsylvania for details on how to get started with Pennsylvania Genealogy research and for other information.

2. Find the Freebies. Genealogists love free databases. You can find plenty of free Pennsylvania resources if you know where to look. Try USGenWeb (check by county) for its volunteer added collections such as obituaries, cemetery lists and more, or GoogleBooks for items such as town histories, biographies and other historical documents.  The Pennsylvania State Archives located in Harrisburg, holds many documents for genealogy research including county records, military records, land records, census records, naturalization records and ships' passenger lists, and some pre-1906 vital records, as well as records of state government, and papers of private citizens and organizations relevant to Pennsylvania history.  While you won’t be able to search bigger collections online, use the website for the online guide to records so you can plan a research trip there.  In addition, some subscription sites often have some free databases. For example, Fold3 has selected databases available even to non-subscribers  http://go.fold3.com/records/state_Pennsylvania . One such publication/record set is The Pennsylvania Archives (early PA government records) – not to be confused with the Pennsylvania State Archives noted above!

 

3. Go to a Group. Facebook Groups are a great way to connect with other researchers searching for Pennsylvania roots. Simply log in to your Facebook account and search for Pennsylvania groups by town or county or topic (for example: Allegheny County, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Cemeteries, or Pennsylvania Genealogy). A quick way to learn about the groups available is to access the list Genealogical & Historical Groups/Pages on Facebook list compiled by Katherine Wilson. Don’t forget the smaller groups and pages too (I belong to several groups for my hometown of Duquesne, Pennsylvania and made it a point to like page for the Mifflin Township Historical Society). You will be amazed at the historical information you will find in these groups and pages and you connect with other Pennsylvania researchers.

Want even more tips on how to find your Pennsylvania ancestors online? Check out my my new bonus webinar Best Online Resources for Pennsylvania Genealogy  available to Family Tree Webinar subscribers. This webinar follows on from my Researching Your Pennsylvania Ancestors webinar.  In addition, the Pennsylvania Genealogy Legacy QuickGuide contains even more research tips and online resources.

 

Lisa A. Alzo, M.F.A., is a freelance writer, instructor and lecturer specializing in genealogy and creative nonfiction. She is a frequent presenter for the Legacy Family Tree Webinars series and can be contacted via http://www.lisaalzo.com.