Meeting Monday, 21 Oct

Do you ever wonder what I am working on?  How I am moving my genealogy research and my genealogy education along?  One of my favorite bloggers Randy Seavers often posts an update on what he is doing…so I will too. 

1.       Last Monday at our WGS meeting the speaker was Mary Kathryn Kozy and her topic was the FamilySearch Wiki.  The Wiki is not a place to search for your ancestors but a place to learn how to research.  Recently in the news, this Wiki surpassed 90,000 articles.  Hard to imagine!  They cover all the places and topics you can imagine down to the level of every county in the US and 263 other countries.  Many of the articles are written by FamilySearch employees and professional genealogists but it’s a wiki.  Everyone is invited to correct links and add to topics they are knowledgeable about.  I hope someone who was at the meeting will come ready to talk about this presentation.

2.       New information about the Wiki was timely because we are deep into another cycle of Research Like a Pro.  The group this time has 10-20 people.  Some are posting their assignments to our Google Group and others just mention to me their results from working the steps. 

3.       For myself, I have spent the last month in Alabama.  I am digging into my Spence family in Alabama from 1815-45.  It’s my first foray in Alabama and this is a hard time period because it was Indian Country and Alabama just became a state in 1819.  On Monday I’ll share my findings and tips on how I moved my research along. 

4.       My walking and driving are accompanied by my favorite podcasts.  The Genealogy Guys are really stepping up their content.  Now they have regular features with Blaine Bettinger on DNA and “Cyndi Says” with Cyndi Ingle. This month Cyndi says: Keep an Open Mind, a good tip for all of us and one to explore at our meeting on Monday.  These four experts (Drew, George, Blaine and Cyndi) are the founders of the Facebook page Genealogy Squad.  Linda B. says that is good place to get lost in.

5.       From Family Locket/Research Like a Pro team, Diana and Nicole are doing a three-part series on Taxes, one of the few places to find ancestors between the Censuses.  They have added a DNA expert to their team and feature DNA blogs and occasional DNA podcasts. 

Our meeting is this Monday 10/21/19 at 1:00.  I hope each of you will think about something you are doing that you can share at the meeting.  For the broader Genies picture, I am starting to reimagine our time together and welcome your ideas.