Organize Your Family History

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I’m loving the Florida State Genealogical Society virtual conference

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As I mentioned earlier this week, the Florida State Genealogical Society is hosting the 2017 Fall Virtual Conference today and tomorrow. I listened to all four talks today and they were great! Such interesting topics, great presenters, and lots of new ideas for my research.

I’m liking it so much I decided to blog again about it because it’s being recorded so you still have a chance to hear the content. If you register for the conference today ($59.95 for non-members) you’ll have access to the recordings for three weeks and you can download the handouts. It’s a great opportunity and I’m glad I didn’t miss out out on it.

Case in point: Today’s talk by Daniel Earl on using funeral records was so interesting and new to me. I had never thought about how funeral records, like bills of sale and programs of funeral services, could help my genealogy research. Now I not only know about them I know where to look for them and even how to contact funeral directors to ask for help.

If you have the money in your genealogy budget, I’d urge you to sign up for this conference, listen in tomorrow live and listen to the recordings of today’s talks over the next three week. I think it’s a well worth the time and a great value.

Florida State Genealogical Society’s Fall Virtual Conference is this weekend!

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I’m not sure how this escaped my notice, but I was glad to learn today that it’s not too late to sign up for The Florida State Genealogical Society’s 2017 Fall Virtual Conference, this Friday and Saturday, November 17 and 18, from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm (eastern time) each day.

FSGS has lined up eight hours of lectures, from notable genealogy presenters, including Michael Lacopo and Diahan Southard, who have been participants in my How They Do It series. Topics include DNA, tax records, funeral homes, and newspaper research. You can see the full lineup on the conference registration page. If you’re not able to watch the whole webinar live, recordings will be available to registrants for three weeks after the conference.

Conference registration is $54.95 for FSGS members and $59.95 for non-members. I just signed up–the topics interest me and I actually like that there’s a three-week deadline on the recordings. That should ensure I actually watch them. I do hope to catch some of the presentations live, however.

Are you planning to attend? Which talk(s) excites you most?

 

Research your military ancestors this Veteran’s Day

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Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day and Find My Past is making it easier to dig deeper into your ancestors’ military service. The website is offering free access to their military databases through November 12.

This offer seems particularly helpful if you have ancestors from Great Britain. Find My Past’s military databases include British Army Service Records, Prisoners of War, 1715-1945; British Royal Navy and Royal Marines Service and Pension Records; Napoleonic War Records; British Army Casualty Lists, 1939-1945; WWI Ships Lost at Sea, 1914-1919. The databases aren’t limited to the UK, though. I did a quick search when I was writing this post on an ancestor who lived in the United States and was able to quickly find his 1903 Army enlistment record.

To get started, search for an ancestor at the Military Access Page. When you click on a search result, it will ask you to sign up for a free account. During this free promotion period, you’ll be able to access (and download or print) the documents you find.

If you’re not sure what wars your ancestors might have fought in, check out this Family Search Wiki page on Ages of Serviceman in Wars. Also check out this blog post I wrote about creating a spreadsheet to help you identify your military ancestors easily.

 

NARA’s 2017 Virtual Genealogy Fair is coming up

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Once again, the National Archives is having a Virtual Genealogy Fair, with a day’s worth of lectures available free of charge. This is the fifth year in a row they’ve offered this webcast.

You can read the lineup here. Detailed descriptions of the sessions are posted here, which is also where handouts will be posted when they’re available. (Classes are marked either Beginner” or “Experienced.”) There will be six one-hour sessions each day, including one on storing and handling family heirlooms.

Since I live in St. Louis, I’m excited that two of the sessions are about the National Archives facility in St. Louis, including one on accessing records burned in the big fire there in 1973.

The event takes place on Wednesday, October 25, starting at 10 am Eastern time and ending with closing remarks at 4 pm. I’ll be traveling that day, so I won’t be able to watch live, but I’m thrilled that the recordings will be available for a period of time after October 25.

Here’s a link to the YouTube Channel where you can watch the sessions. No registration is required!