Ferndale Genies Virtual Meeting May 18, 2020 via Zoom

Thank you to Sylvia for taking Minutes at our meeting.  Excellent report.


Ferndale Genies Virtual Meeting May 18, 2020 via Zoom

In Attendance: Judith, Sylvia, Linda B, Bill, Judy S, Sue McF, Elizabeth, Rick, David R, and Frank & Margie.

1:00 p.m. Judith welcomed the group and mentioned how great Zoom has been. No special agenda. Members were given the opportunity for a check-in and Judith had updates on topics of interest in genealogy.

Check in:

Bill: Has been focusing on house cleanout of old records, etc., not much in the way of genealogy. He was hoping to meet cousins this summer that he had never met, but plans have had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus.

Linda: Has been working on genealogy. She enjoys the Skagit Valley Genealogy Society online workshops and has attended a couple with Judith. A recent workshop on Evidence and Citations via Zoom was especially helpful. She is getting started on her stories and photos and doing direct line research on her grandmother who was born in Prussia. Looking at immigration records and confirming family stories. She is really using the techniques learned from Research Like A Pro. She is especially enjoying a book on Milwaukee that she picked up which has a lot of helpful information on her family there, including good background information on the area.

Judy: Has been getting emails from Ancestry, etc., and tree updates from My Heritage. She was able to update her own tree. It seemed that the Gedcom had errors and it was frustrating to figure out who was who.

Frank & Margie: Have not been doing too much with genealogy. Frank has been sharing information with relatives.

Elizabeth: Has been going through boxes of miscellaneous stuff and found a box filled with cuttings and information on Mt. St. Helen’s eruption 50 years ago. She was studying geology at Portland State University in Portland, OR at that time. Looking for an ancestor’s death certificate in Georgia records in order to verify the ancestor’s parents, she was disappointed to find that there was no record. Judith said that around 1919, which was the time period Elizabeth was researching, states were just beginning to record death certificates. At times, death records did not make it into the state files. Elizabeth is enjoying listening to Research Like a Pro podcasts .

Susan: Through My Heritage notifications of DNA contacts, she was able to get in touch with family in Perth, Ontario.  She has a personal connection with the Canadian Snowbirds (like US Navy Blue Angels).  A recent crash that killed a Capt. and injured one other hit Sue pretty hard.

Sylvia: Has also been delighted to have made contact through My Heritage with cousins, one of whom turns out to be a professional genealogist who is helping her find a connection to himself and several of his relatives. She is working on learning how GEDmatch works and how it can help her.

Rick: They are starting to get ready for a move into their newly built home. While preparing boxes of belongings, Rick discovered a file that included his grandfather’s own genealogy research. He found an ancestor’s letter from 1879 written in Welsh and a copy translated by his grandfather! Rick says he might never have found or noticed this document if not by accident during this move!

David: Has been cleaning out old files, as we all appear to have been doing during this extended lock-down and found an envelope from the 1970s with two articles. He had a handwritten family tree he received back in Germany when he was visiting there with family history going back to the 1700s and having all his family surnames. Using Ancestry, etc., he tried contacting DNA cousins, but they did not appear interested.

Judith: Has been doing a lot with webinars, our blog, listening to podcasts, and keeping track of all the great information for our meetings.

Judith told us about a Zoom update that we need to do soon. She sent the information to the blog. The update will be required after May 30 in order to use Zoom. Check your own Zoom app to see which version you have and if you need to update. Zoom should tell you if you do and will update for you.

CeCe Moore’s “Genetic Detective” series should be starting on May 26^th at 10:00 pm on ABC network. There has been mixed information given out, some saying it will be June 2^nd. It’s best to be ready to watch on May 26^th and if it’s not aired then, try June 2^nd.

Judith says the National Genealogical Society’s annual conference this year will be online. It will be a one-day event with guest speakers all day and is very expensive.  No need to look into this.

A better source for genealogy education is Legacy Family Tree Webinars, owned by My Heritage. There are free workshops but getting the $50 annual membership is best as it gives you anytime access to over 1200+ archived webinars and the syllabus for the webinar. The Abundant Genealogy website will give you a 10-15% discount on membership. The webinar site at https://familytreewebinars.com/  is excellent with daily webinars, question-and-answer sessions, technology instruction videos, etc.

LivingDNA has done some updating. Judith and Sylvia now have access to several hundred DNA matches each. Sylvia says they have a ways to go as you can contact the DNA match directly, but there is no tree or personal information about the match.

Skagit Valley is doing 2x month Zoom meetings with a Members Meet-up session the first Saturday of the month at 1:00 pm and a formal presentation the third Saturday. In June the focus is on DNA.  Questions from the first Saturday will be given to the speaker in advance, so they are able to address them at the presentation on the third Saturday. It’s important to note that in order to attend their Zoom sessions, you must be a member (for security reasons). It costs $15 annually and is well worth it.

Margie asked a question about how to access old newspapers to find an article about an ancestor. Answers included going to the library online, Newspapers.com, Newsbank, Family Search Wiki for newspapers, or simply googling the name and location. Judith also mentioned that “Chronicling America” from the Library of Congress is free. Judith will look into this and post to the blog. 

Members shared questions, ideas, and tips. The meeting concluded at 2:30 pm.