The recording of today's webinar by Paul Milner, FUGA, MDiv, "Tips and Tools for Navigating the English Probate System” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

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About the presenter

Paul Milner, a native of northern England, is a professional genealogist and internationally known lecturer with 30 years’ experience, specializing in British Isles research.
Here’s the backstory about Paul: Paul was raised on the West Coast of northern England. A mining engineer with a degree from the Cambourne School of Mines in Cornwall, England, he came to the U.S. in 1975 to get his graduate degree at the University of Wisconsin. He has been in the U.S. ever since, and in 2008 he became a dual citizen of both countries. In the intervening years, Paul received two graduate degrees and traveled widely throughout the world. Paul has been designing genealogy workshops, writing books, and lecturing for over 35 years. He holds an advanced degree in Theology and is particularly knowledgeable about the church and its role in record keeping. As a genealogist he speaks on a variety of topics relating to research in the British Isles, migration to North America and research methodology. He is the 2018 recipient of the Utah Genealogical Society Fellow Award. He is currently the book review editor of the British Interest Group of Wisconsin and Illinois Newsletter (BIGWILL) and is the former book review editor of the FGS FORUM. Paul is a past board member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Genealogical Speakers Guild, and the British Interest Group of Wisconsin and Illinois.

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, February 28, 2023 at:

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

which, in Sydney, is Wednesday, March 1, 2023 at:

• noon

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 Legacy Family Tree team is off to Salt Lake City for RootsTech 2023! Always the largest family history event, RootsTech 2023 will feature more than 300 classes, thousands of genealogists, and a gigantic exhibit hall.

The Legacy Booth and more

I'll (Geoff) be there as well, along with Marian, Leonard, and others (thanks to Dave, Ken, Jairmie, and Ron for keeping our Facebook, Support, webinars and everything else running at home!). So bring your questions, good conversation, and well, your money. But only bring half as much as you normally would since both Legacy and webinar memberships (new memberships only) will be available for our special conference pricing of half off!

You'll also find me over at the MyHeritage booth giving demos and short classes.

• Thursday, 12:30pm
• Friday, 4:30pm
• Saturday, 1:30pm

Can't make it?

If you can't make it to SLC this year, many of the classes will be live-streamed. PLUS, we'll still see you online for this week's live webinar:

• Tips and Tools for Navigating the English Probate System by Paul Milner, FUGA, MDiv

"Life is short, do genealogy first!"

The recording of today's members-only webinar by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS, "Smiths & Joneses: Success with Families of Common Name” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for those with a webinar membership.

Last week we discussed analyzing envelopes, so this week, let's look at what lies within the envelope, a letter.

Like an envelope, there's more than meets the eye when looking at a letter. The letter may not seem to hold genealogical value because it does not include vital record events, but it can provide insight into both the writer and the receiver's lives.

Analyze and Transcribe

As you begin your analysis, take a look at the letter and note:

• Who is the letter addressed?
• Who is the letter from?
• What are the dates listed?
• What is the return address?

Most of us know there is a standard format to letter writing, but that format may or may not be present in a letter written to a family member. The information listed above provides some foundation information about the letter that should be noted as you transcribe and analyze.

Now, transcribe the letter. You may be asking, why? In my opinion, not only does transcribing the letter make it easier to read (in the case of handwritten letters), it helps to preserve the letter, and it also allows you to annotate and make a note of important aspects of the letter, such as:

• Names
• Places
• Events
• Descriptions
• Stories

As you transcribe, you can use square brackets [ ] to add information, add clarification, or correct misspellings. You could even use tools in your word document program to highlight and add comments.

Once you have transcribed the letter, you might want to add a page to summarize what you have learned from the letter. What are the key points? What information should be followed up on in records or newspapers? What questions do you have? What are your research plan and research questions?

I also like to create a timeline in a table. In the first column, I add the date the letter was written (or postmarked) and list them chronologically in the first column). Subsequent columns include the place, the name of the writer/recipient, a few points of the letter, and a source citation. You can also add a column to include next steps or records to look for.

Letters as Genealogy Sources

Letters are an excellent genealogical source, regardless of who wrote or received them in your family. Analyzing them can lead to clues and records that will enhance your genealogy. Take some time to take a second look at the letters in your files to enhance your family history story.

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.

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 "What’s That Name? Tips for Finding Nicknames, Spelling Variants and Mangled Surnames" by Janice Nickerson.

Webinar Short Description

Names are a genealogist’s bread and butter. But how do you find your ancestors when they didn’t “go by” their proper names, or clerks mangled their names in the records or the transcriber couldn’t read the enumerator’s handwriting? These tips might help!

About the Presenter

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

Across a long career, Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS, has been an innovator of research methods and strategies. Published widely by academic and popular presses, she edited a national-level scholarly journal for 16 years, taught for 13 years at a National Archives-based institute on archival records and, for 25 years, headed a university-based program for advanced researchers. A past president of both the American Society of Genealogists and the Board for Certification of Genealogists, Elizabeth is the author, editor, and translator of 14 books and over 600 articles in the fields of genealogy, history, literature, and sociology. She has delivered over 1,000 lectures internationally, has appeared on radio and TV talk shows on three continents, and was featured in BBC’s 20th and 30th anniversary specials on the novel Roots.

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 24, 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!

The recording of today's webinar by Mary Kircher Roddy, CG, "Flying Under the Radar – Discovering Charles Olin’s Alias” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.

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

Mary Kircher Roddy, CG became interested in family history in 2000 in anticipation of her husband’s sabbatical at the University of Limerick in Ireland. While she didn’t learn everything about her ancestors while they lived there, she was hooked! Since then she earned a certificate in Genealogy and Family History from the University of Washington and her Certified Genealogist credential in 2019. She is a co-founder of the Applied Genealogy Institute, whose motto is “Learn by Doing.” She served as treasurer for the Association of Professional Genealogists from 2018-2021. She is a trustee of the Board for Certification of Genealogists. Mary is also co-editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.

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 22, 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!

The recording of today's webinar by Dave Obee, "Family History on the Canadian Prairies” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for free for a limited time.