Genealogy Insider - Webinars

Missouri Genealogy Research—Beyond the Basics

Diane — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:26:49 GMT

You've found basic data on your Missouri ancestors from sources such as birth and death records and censuses. Now you're ready to dig deeper into more-advanced, richer genealogy resources.

You'll learn how in our May 23 webinar Secrets to Beat Your Missouri Brick Walls.

Cheryl Lang, manager of the Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, Mo., will show you how to take your Missouri genealogy search to the next level with

Military records and rosters
Court and tax records
Manuscripts and state-specific collections
State archives resources

She'll also give you a quick refresher on Missouri vital records, and guidance for using cluster and collateral techniques to break through brick walls.

Got a Missouri genealogy question? You can submit it to Cheryl before the event or ask during the live Q&A session at the end of the presentation.

Webinar participants will get our newly revised Missouri State Research Guide and our St. Louis City Guide, a 25-page handout of Cheryl's presentation slides, and access to view the webinar again as many times as you want.

Click here for more details about the Secrets to Beat Your Missouri Brick Walls webinar and to register.

New Webinar: How to Do Genealogy Using the New FamilySearch.org

Diane — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:53:56 GMT

FamilySearch.org made news last month in genealogy circles when it relaunched a polished new FamilySearch.org website.

The new FamilySearch.org relocates some favorite features (to the consternation of several genealogy bloggers), updates its Family Tree online trees program, and emphasizes the new photo and story uploading features, as well as the attractive fan chart.

In our May 9 webinar, Making the Most of FamilySearch.org, you'll get a tour the new site and learn to make the best use of its ancestor-searching potential.

Our presenter, Family Tree Magazine contributing editor Rick Crume, will show you:

how to navigate the redesigned FamilySearch.org

the best search strategies for FamilySearch.org's free genealogy records databases

how to find and use the genealogy records databases that aren't covered by the FamilySearch.org global search

differences between the site's new Family Tree program and its user-submitted Genealogies

how to access FamilySearch records that aren't online

how to take advantage of FamilySearch.org's genealogy help features

... and more

You can submit your questions about FamilySearch.org to Rick before the webinar, and there'll be a Q&A session at the end.

Webinar participants will receive our how-to guide for ordering FamilySearch microfilm, a PDF handout of the presentation slides and access to view the webinar again as many times as they like.

The Making the Most of FamilySearch.org webinar is May 9 at 7 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Central, 5 p.m. Mountain and 4 p.m. Pacific). For a limited time, you can save $10 on your registration with our early bird special!

Click here to learn more and register for Making the Most of FamilySearch.org.

Genealogy Video Tip: Finding Old Land Records in Illinois

Diane — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:55:20 GMT

Our Secrets to Beat Your Illinois Brick Walls webinar Thursday evening, April 11, picks up where our Illinois Genealogy Crash Course left off, introducing you to more-advanced, lesser-known genealogy resources ito trace ancestors in Illinois.

In this video tip from the Secrets to Beat Your Illinois Brick Walls webinar, presenter David A. Fryxell gives you resources for finding land records in Illinois, from the days of French, then British, then Virginia jurisdiction, through the public domain lands era, to more-recent deed records.

You've still got a couple more days to register for the Secrets to Beat Your Illinois Brick Walls webinar! Learn more about the webinar and sign up at ShopFamilyTree.com.

Insider Secrets & Unique Records for Genealogy Research in Illinois

Diane — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:49:21 GMT

Hit a brick wall in your genealogy research into your Illinois ancestors? Or you just need a little push beyond basic records to take your family tree to the next level?

We're about to introduce you to sources that can help you dig deeper into your Land of Lincoln family tree.

In our Insider Secrets to Beat Your Illinois Brick Walls webinar, Family Tree Magazine's founding editor David A. Fryxell will

take you on a tour of unique record sets including court records, tax records, military rosters and more.
show you how to navigate the Illinois State Archives
share resources for cluster and collateral searches in Illinois
offer advice on the Illinois research problems from webinar attendees (submit questions in advance or during the webinar)

Plus, webinar participants will receive Family Tree Magazine's newly revised Illinois State Research Guide and our Chicago City Guide. Participants also get a PDF of the presentation slides and access to view the recording again as often as desired.

Click here for more information about the Insider Secrets to Beat Your Illinois Brick Walls webinar. Register on or before April 8 to save $10!

Update: Webinar registrants also can save $15 on our State Research Guides CD or eBook, with guides to researching genealogy in every US State.

Discover the Best Websites for Irish Genealogy Research

Diane — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:59:54 GMT

Having a hard time making progress with your Irish genealogy search? Maybe you're not looking in the right places. Our March 28 webinar, Best Irish Genealogy Websites, will help you find ancestors using websites that provide key resources for Irish research.

In this sneak peek video, Irish genealogy expert Donna Moughty talks about Irish civil registrations and the indexes on the free FamilySearch.org, as well as other sites.

The Best Irish Genealogy Websites webinar is Thursday, March 28, at 7 p.m. ET (that's 6 p.m. CT, 5 p.m. MT and 4 p.m. PT). Attendees have the opportunity to ask Donna your Irish genealogy questions during the Q&A session. They'll also receive a copy of our Irish research guide, a PDF of the presentation slides, and a link to view the presentation again as many times as they want.

Register here for our Best Irish Genealogy Websites webinar.

Six Irish Genealogy Websites

Diane — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:21:54 GMT

Take it from someone who's 1/16th Irish: Americans are proud as can be of even the tiniest sliver of Irish heritage. Especially around St. Patrick's Day (which falls in the middle of Irish American Heritage Month).

A strong sense of community amid many hardships helped build that pride. During the 19th century, the heaviest era of Irish immigration to the United States due to the Great Famine (1845-1852), Irish arrivals faced prejudice, poverty, substandard housing and other problems. Some numbers for you:

Almost 3.5 million Irishmen entered the United States between 1820 and 1880. Most stayed in large East Coast cities, partly because they couldn't afford to continue west and partly because they could create close-knit communities with others from their place of origin.

In 1847, the first major year of famine emigration, 37,000 Irish Catholics arrived in Boston, according to the History Place, where they packed into slums. A sobering statistic from the site: "Sixty percent of Irish children born in Boston during this period didn't live to see their sixth birthday. Adult Irish lived on average just six years after stepping off the boat."

The same year, about 52,000 Irish arrived in New York City. About 650,000 Irish arrived there during the entire Famine period.

About 11.9 percent of the US population reported Irish ancestry as part of the Census Bureau's American Community Survey in 2008, making this the country's second-largest heritage group.

Are you ready to research your Irish ancestors? Start with US records and work your way back to the immigrant generation, looking for a place of birth in Ireland—you'll need this info to search in Irish records.

These are some of our favorite Irish research websites (several are free):

Griffith's Valuation: Ask About Ireland has a free search of Griffith's Primary Valuation, a valuation of property in Ireland between 1847 and 1864. It's an important resource for 19th-century Irish research, especially given the destruction of census records from that era. The March/April 2013 Family Tree Magazine has a tutorial for this site.

Census of Ireland, 1901 and 1911: The National Archives of Ireland offers these censuses for free, along with a trove of historical information. Our video class will show you how to mine the clues in these censuses, even if your ancestors left Ireland before 1901.

findmypast.ie: This new subscription site (with a pay-as-you-go option) has records of births, marriages and deaths (aka BMDs); courts and prisons; military; immigration; land and estates; as well as newspapers, directories and Griffith's Valuation.

Information Wanted: Also free is this database of "missing friends" from the Boston Pilot newspaper, which published notices from those looking for lost friends from Ireland. The column ran from 1831 to 1921; this site has 1831 to 1893 plus 1901 and 1913.

Irish Genealogy: This site from the Irish Minister of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is dedicated to Irish genealogy and genealogical tourism. You can search nearly 3 million pre-1900 church records free, and view the actual record if it's been digitized.

Ancestry.com: Subscription site Ancestry.com has Irish records including Griffith's Valuation, tithe applotment books (a tax paid to the Church of Ireland from 1823 to 1837), Ordnance Survey maps, BMDs and more.
FamilySearch: Free Irish record collections here include civil registration indexes, prison registers, tithe applotment books and more.

NARA: Passenger Lists: The National Archives' Access to Archival Databases has passenger indexes including Records for Passengers Who Arrived at the Port of New York During the Irish Famine. It covers 1846 to 1851 and lists people of all nationalities, not just Irish.

You can learn how to research your Irish genealogy online in our Best Irish Genealogy Websites webinar with Donna Moughty, taking place Thursday, March 28.

Then there's also the in-depth guidance in our Irish Genealogy Research 101 and 201 FamilyTreeUniversity courses.

Learn How to Interpret German Genealogy Records

Diane — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:23:54 GMT

You're looking for genealogy records of your ancestors in Germany, and perhaps you've even found some. They might look like this:

And it makes you understand why everyone talks about how hard it is to understand German records: Not only are you dealing with an unfamiliar language, but the script makes the words difficult to interpret.

Most German Catholic church records are in Latin; Evangelical (Lutheran) records may be in Latin or German. Records as late as the 1930s are usually written in the old German Gothic script.

But there are tricks you can use to figure out what these church records say about your German ancestors.

Our March 14 webinar, Interpreting German Records, will teach you how to work with German genealogy records, from basic translation to decoding hard-to-read handwriting and typeface. German genealogy expert James M. Beidler will show you

tricks for reading German script and type
resources for building your vocabulary of German terms and deciphering abbreviations
a methodology for solving the quirks of the printed Gothic/Fraktur typeface
strategies for transcribing and translating the handwritten German cursive script

The Interpreting German Records webinar takes place Thursday, March 14, at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (that's 6 p.m. Central, 5 p.m. Mountain and 4 p.m. Pacific). You'll save $10 on your registration if you sign up before March 7!

I think I've got it!, or, Cluster Genealogy Works!

Diane — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:48:11 GMT

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about my third-great-grandmother's hard-to-read maiden name in her divorce case file from 1879 to 1881. Many of you offered suggestions for searching for her family in the 1850 and 1860 censuses—thank you!

I tried those searches and I kept examining the case file for clues ... and I'm 98 percent sure I have the maiden name! It shows that cluster genealogy works. Here's how it happened.

I saw this in my third-great-grandmother Mary Frost's testimony:

Her oldest child—my great-great-grandfather—George, stayed with Mary's sister (unnamed here) and worked for the sister's husband, George Hartke, in his grocery store.

I searched for George Hartke on Ancestry.com and found this in an 1878 city directory for Covington, Ky.:

I then found his family in the 1880 census, under "Harke":

My great-great-grandfather is listed in the household as "nephew." Interestingly, he's double-enumerated in his mother's household in 1880:

I turned my focus to George Hartke's wife and Mary Frost's sister, Elizabeth. Death records often name parents, especially in the 20th century (Mary's doesn't, though), so I looked for Elizabeth's. Lo and behold:

Let's take a closer look:

Elizabeth's Oct. 22, 1931, death certificate reports her parents as Henry Wolking and "Eliz." Evers, both born in Germany. I did some more census searching and believe the informant, "Mrs. Henry Harke," is Elizabeth's daughter-in-law.

I still haven't found the Wolkings for sure in 1850 and 1860 census records. My best candidate so far is this Wolkins family in 1850:

The father's name doesn't match, which isn't great but also isn't a deal breaker—he could've gone by his middle name or the census taker could've talked to a neighbor, or Mrs. Henry Harke could have been wrong on the death certificate. This family does have a Mary, Tilda (the divorce records refer to Mary's sister Matilda) and Lizzie of the right ages.

Learn more about how to use cluster genealogy in your research from our on-demand webinar, Using Cluster and Collateral Searches to Beat Brick Walls, presented by Thomas MacEntee. It's available in ShopFamilyTree.com.

Originally posted at the Genealogy Insider blog.

How to Use Google for Genealogy

Diane — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:02:33 GMT

You've probably searched for information on your ancestors using the Google search engine, but have you also waded through a flood of irrelevant search results to (maybe) find useful genealogy information?

Have you taken advantage of Google's other free tools, such as Google Scholar and Alerts? Language tools?

In Family Tree University's next webinar, Lisa Louise Cooke, author of The Genealogist's Google Toolbox, will show you how to research your family tree using these and other Google tools.

Our Googling Your Genealogy live webinar takes place Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (that's 6 p.m. Central, 5 p.m. Mountain and 4 p.m. Pacific). You'll learn:

Basic and Advanced Google search techniques to hone in on your family (even if they had a common name)
How to set up timesaving Google Alerts
How to use Google Scholar, Google Patent and other tools to find genealogy information
How to leap language barriers with Language Tools
... and more

Webinar registrants will receive a PDF handout of the presentation slides and access to watch the webinar again as many times as you like. You'll also get Family Tree Magazine's Step-by-Step Guide to Google article.

Click here to register for our Googling Your Genealogy live webinar with Lisa Louise Cooke (sign up before Feb. 21 to save $10!).

Beat Your Military Research Brick Walls

Diane — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:06:44 GMT

Your great-great-grandfather's military pension records could have the answers you want about his Civil War service and the widow he left behind ... if only you could find the records.

Or maybe your military genealogy brick wall is one of these:

the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center, which destroyed most records for Army personnel discharged from 1912 to 1960, and air force personnel discharged from 1947 to 1964
privacy restrictions for post-WWI soldiers
service in a lesser-known war, without widely available or publicized records
service during peacetime, rather than a specific war
several similarly named soldiers, any one of which could be your relative (at $80 a pop, you won't be ordering that pension unless you know it belongs to your guy)
a POW
a female ancestor in the Army Nurse Corps, Cadet Nurse Corps, Women Airforce Service Pilots or other unit
... or you just don't know what records are available with regard to your ancestor's military service, or how to get them

Our next webinar, Expert Tricks for Beating Your Military Brick Walls, may be for you. David Allen Lambert, a military research expert and chief genealogist at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, will show you the best strategies for solving difficult military records research problems—and he'll tackle real-life brick walls of webinar participants.

You can either submit your military brick-wall questions when you register or during the live Q&A session. Here are the details:

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 20
Starting time: 7pm EST (that's 6pm CST, 5pm MST and 4pm PST)
Duration: 1 hour
Registration: $49.99 (but save $10 if you register before Feb. 13)
Includes: participation in the live event, the ability to watch the webinar again as many times as you like, a PDF of the presentation slides and our "Brick Wall Busters: Proving Military Service" handout.
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Click here to learn more about the Expert Tricks for Beating Your Military Brick Walls webinar!

Editors' Pick: Expert Tricks for Beating Your Military Brick Walls Live Webinar

Beth — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:10:51 GMT

Ever wished you had a professional genealogist at your beck and call when trying to solve your military brick wall? Have you run into obstacles while tracing your military veteran ancestors and want tips for getting on track? Or do you just need some general strategies for battling brick walls? Find the solutions you're looking for in Expert Tricks for Beating Your Military Brick Walls Live Webinar.

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 20
Time: 7pm EST/6pm CST/5pm MST/4pm PST; 1-hour duration
Presenter: David Allen Lambert, chief researcher at the New England Historic Genealogical Society
Price: $49.99 ($39.99 early bird until Wednesday, Feb. 13)

About This Webinar:

Submit questions about any conflict—from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, from the Spanish-American War to World War I—to have them answered in the live presentation.
Learn top strategies for tracing elusive veteran ancestors whether your research stumper relates to military pensions or war widows.
Get key tips for busting through brick walls.
PLUS: Receive a free PDF, "Brick Wall Busters: Proving Military Service."

Register here: Expert Tricks for Beating Your Military Brick Walls Live Webinar

Don't Miss Family Tree University's Winter 2013 Virtual Genealogy Conference

Beth — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:20:48 GMT

Get an intensive dose of genealogy education at Family Tree University’s Winter 2013 Virtual Conference! At this February weekend workshop, you’ll learn strategies and resources to boost your research—and because it’s web-based, you can participate from anywhere at any time. Get all the benefits of a genealogy conference—education, camaraderie, expert advice—without all the hassle.

WHEN

9am EST Friday, Feb., 22 to 11:59pm EST Sunday, Feb. 24

WHAT

A three-day all-access pass to watch 15 pre-recorded video classes in three tracks:

Genealogy Technology

Research Strategies

Ethnic Research

The opportunity to participate in LIVE chats with topic experts
PLUS: Your Virtual Conference registration gives you the ability to download a copy of all sessions and watch them whenever and wherever you want.
AND: Get a "swag bag" of freebies from ShopFamilyTree.com

REGISTRATION

$199.99
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION: Reserve your spot on or before Friday, Jan. 25 and lock in the early bird rate of $149.99—a savings of 25 percent! (Just use special offer code WINTERVCEARLY to save.) Click here to register.

Editors' Pick: Ancestry.com Search Secrets Webinar

Beth — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:45:55 GMT

If one of your new year's resolutions is to manage your genealogy research time more efficiently and effectively, you'll get 2013 off to a stellar start with our Ancestry.com Search Secrets webinar.

Sifting through the millions of records available on Ancestry.com can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, yet the wealth of data is critical to your research. Whether you're digging for your family in census records, military records or public member trees, let presenter Laura G. Prescott teach you her top tips for making the most of your searches on this genealogy juggernaut.

Date: Thursday, Jan. 24
Time: 7pm EST/6pm CST/5pm MST/4pm PST
Price: $49.99 ($39.99 early bird until Jan. 17)

What You'll Learn:

How to rein in the massive amount of information available on Ancestry.com
Hints to set manageable search parameters for finding your family
How to dig into individual databases for specific records
Tricks and tips to make your search efforts more efficient and effective
PLUS: Get a free PDF download of our Ancestry.com Web Guide

To learn how to harness the information on Ancestry.com so you can quickly and easily track down your relatives, register here.

Editors' Pick: Maryland Genealogy Crash Course Webinar

Tyler — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 18:32:01 GMT

From the Potomac River to the Mason-Dixon Line, Maryland played a key role in the early development of the United States. Whether your ancestors were Protestant Colonials or Puritans that migrated from Virginia, our Maryland Genealogy Crash Course Webinar, part of the State Genealogy Series, will help you track down your Old Line State origins.

Date: Thursday, Jan. 10
Time: 7pm EST/6pm CST/5pm MST/4pm PST; 1-hour duration
Presenter: Michael Hait
Price: $49.99 ($39.99 early bird until Thursday, Jan. 3)

What You'll Learn:

Basic Maryland history, from 1st Lord Baltimore's Province of Maryland to the Civil War
How to find and use key Maryland records
Tricks for tracing early Maryland ancestors
Top websites for Maryland genealogy
Specific tips for finding your Baltimore and Annapolis ancestors

PLUS: Receive two free downloads: a copy of our Maryland State Guide and our Baltimore Genealogy Guide

Register here: Maryland Genealogy Crash Course Webinar

Special Sneak Peek: Using Criminal Court Records Webinar

Beth — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:06:20 GMT

Do you have a Jesse James in your family? What about a Wyatt Earp?

Sifting through criminal case files to find your ancestors in criminal court records is illuminating—whichever side of the law your ancestors are on.

The records created by the criminal justice system are "wonderful additions to any family history," says Using Criminal Court Records Webinar presenter Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist, (For a video sneak peek of this Tuesday, Dec. 11 live webinar [7 p.m. ET], click here.)

Russell sums up those who are in the criminal justice system this way: "They came in all sizes, shapes, colors. They were men, women and even children. They acted out of greed or foolishness or just desperation—or were wrongly accused. And they became the criminals.

"They're among the most colorful characters in our family trees. They didn't toe the line, they went their own ways, and they did one thing that can't help but warm a genealogist's heart: They left records. Arrest records. Conviction records. Prison records."

"But they weren't all bad guys (or gals)," she adds. "Your ancestor might have played a different role: police officer, constable, judge, juror or witness."

Next week, "we'll take a look at a whole range of records created after a crime was committed, from police reports all the way to prison records," says Russell. "We'll look at cases prosecuted in local courts, state courts and federal courts. We'll look at some records from other countries. And we'll look at ways to find the records that relate to our ancestors in the many roles they played in the criminal justice system ... and what those records tell us about the times in which our ancestors lived."

Register now for this fascinating webinar!

Can't-Miss December Live Webinars

Beth — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:24:27 GMT

We know December can be a bit crazy, with all the shopping, caroling and decking the halls. Find a moment of calm among the clatter by blocking out time for one—or both—of Family Tree University's December live webinars ... and keep your genealogical research on track.

State Genealogy Series
Kansas Ge nealogy Crash Course: Find Your Sunflower State Ancestors
Searching for your Sunflower State ancestors? In the 19th century, this Midwest plot of prairie was home to Native Americans and European settlers alike. If your ancestors lived in the vicinity of Topeka, Wichita or Kansas City, let presenter Kathleen Reid Rippel lead you to your roots.

Date: Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012
Time: 7pm EST/6pm CST/5pm MST/4pm PST
Duration: 1 hour
Price: $49.99 ($39.99 through tomorrow, Nov. 29)

What You'll Learn:

Fundamental Kansas history, from the Louisiana Purchase to the American Civil War
State-specific tips for tracing American Indian, English, Spanish and African-American and other ethnic ancestors
Key online sources for Kansas records
Tricks for finding your roots from Topeka to Wichita, Dodge City to Kansas City
PLUS: This webinar comes with two free downloads: a copy of our Kansas State Research Guide and our Kansas City Guide.

Register Here: Kansas Genealogy Crash Course: Find Your Sunflower State Ancestors

Four Fun Factoids from Presenter Kathleen Reid Rippel:

The Pikes Peak Gold Rush was actually in Kansas territory.
The Kansas State Historical Society was created by newspapers editors in 1875. It's no surprise, then, that Kansas is one of the best states for newspaper research.
Kansas is one of the few states that regularly took a state census. These are still available and provide some extra information. The 1885 and 1895 schedules are especially helpful since the 1890 Federal census is not available.
Even if your ancestors didn't settle in Kansas, many researchers discover that their family members stayed for awhile, then returned home or went further west. Others passed through on major trails, including the Oregon Trail and the Santa Fe Trail.

Discover and Preserve Your Family History Series
Using Criminal Court Records Webinar
Sift through criminal case files to find your ancestors in criminal court records. Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist, will present the essential strategies for locating your ancestors.

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012
Time: 7pm EST/6pm CST/5pm MST/4pm PST
Duration: 1 hour
Price: $49.99 ($39.99 until Dec. 4)

What You'll Learn:

Explanation of the complaint and indictment process as it affected your ancestors
The paper trail generated from arrests and gathering witnesses
How to find records of pretrial and trial proceedings and what they can tell you about your ancestors
How sentences—from the stocks to the penitentiary—were issued and documented
PLUS: This webinar comes with a free PDF download: a copy of Court Orders, our guide to courthouse records.

Register Here: Using Criminal Courts Webinar

Four Fun Factoids from Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist:

Americans love to trace their roots to the Mayflower. But the first convicted killer in America was John Billington, who arrived on (yep, you guess it) the Mayflower.
Throughout history, the criminal law has treated women differently from men: in some cases, more leniently, in others, more harshly. Only a woman, for example, could be convicted of being a common scold.
One of the biggest boosts to law enforcement was the development of photography. It made it more difficult for a bad guy to just change his name and move down the road. Many photographs exist from criminal cases starting in the late 1800s, and a fair number can be found online—and not just from the United States.
From 1919-1933, large numbers of criminal prosecutions were for alcohol-related offenses, thanks to Prohibition. But Prohibition gave birth to a new type of crime, Organized Crime (with capital letters)—and an explosion of records, particularly at the federal level.

AND, A REMINDER …
Don't miss out! Our one-week workshop, Using Free Genealogy Websites, begins Friday and runs through Friday, Dec. 7. In just one week, this Family Tree University workshop will teach you secrets for gleaning more ancestral information from free sites and databases; for searching the web more effectively; and for taking advantage of fantastic free tools you're not already using. Click here to register.

Webinar Sneak Peek: Top 25 Tips for Finding Your Colonial Ancestors

Beth — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:14:22 GMT

Wherever your Colonial kin come from—Jamestown to Roanoke, Plymouth to Massachusetts Bay—you'll discover helpful strategies for researching them in our Tuesday, Nov. 13 hour-long webinar. Here's a sneak peek of this exclusive webinar. Don't miss out; register now!

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 13
Starting Time: 7pm ET/6pm CT/5pm MT/4pm PT
Price: $49.99
Presenter: D. Joshua Taylor
Topics:

Essential tricks for tracing colonial immigrants
A brief history of Colonial America, from the Revolutionary War to the Louisiana Purchase
New England, the Middle Colonies, Chesapeake Bay Colonies, the Lower South and the Frontier, including which ethnic groups settled which areas during this period
Key strategies for unearthing your early American roots
Common and lesser-known resources for records of your Colonial kin
Best Colonial genealogy websites and how they can help your genealogy research

Top Tips for Finding Colonial Ancestors

Diane — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 14:35:37 GMT

Having roots in Colonial America is both a source of pride and frustation: How awesome that your ancestors have been on American soil so long and helped shape the direction of our country—but how difficult to trace them in centuries-old, unfamiliar and often-incomplete records.

Here's your chance to get Colonial genealogy research advice from one of the best: New England genealogy expert D. Joshua Taylor.

Josh will present our next webinar, Top 25 Tips for Finding Your Colonial Ancestors, taking place Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 7pm ET (that's 6pm CT, 5pm MT and 4pm PT). He sent us a few tips to keep in mind when you're tracing Colonial kin:

1. Verify, verify, verify. Because so many of our Colonial families have "already been done," it is important to verify data that has already been published. Mistakes in Colonial families can filter through several generations and cause headaches for genealogists.

2. It hasn't all been done. It is important to get over the common mindset that "my colonial families have all been researched," as there's still so much to discover. During the webinar, we'll talk about a few new resources for tracing Colonial families that are largely untapped by genealogists.

3. Study your history. The Colonial period is a fascinating time in our history, and it is important that you know exactly what was happening in the areas your ancestors were living. Boundary changes, disputes, conflicts with American Indians and a host of other events did impact the lives of our Colonial ancestors.

In the webinar, Josh will show you key strategies for discovering early American roots and tracing Colonial immigrants, which groups settled which areas during the era, common and lesser-known resources for Colonial kin, and the best websites to use.

Once you're registered for the webinar, you'll get

Participation in the live presentation on Nov. 13
The chance to submit questions before the event and again during the webinar
Access to the webinar recording to view again as many times as you like
The 75-page PDF of the presentation slides for future reference
Eight pages of additional handouts

Click here to register for Top 25 Tips for Finding Your Colonial Ancestors (if you hurry, you'll save $10 with our early bird special)!

It's a Great Time for Finding Ancestors' Military Records Online

Diane — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 13:17:09 GMT

In this quick preview of our Oct. 18 Online Military Records webinar, presenter David A. Fryxell explains why it's a great time to be researching your military ancestors.

The webinar will cover how to find online records for ancestors in specific US wars, the best websites for researching military ancestors (such as those David included in our 2012 list of the 101 Best Websites for genealogy), answers to webinar attendees' military research questions and more.

The Online Military Records webinar takes place next Thursday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT, 5 p.m. MT, 4 p.m. PT).

We're offering a package deal with our Family Tree University US Military Records course: When you register for the course session starting Oct. 15 for just $79.99, you'll get a coupon for additional $20 off the Online Military Records webinar (the coupon code will be in your course registration confirmation email).

Check out the US Military Records course here and the Online Military Records webinar here.

Iowa Genealogy Tips From Our Crash Course Webinar

Diane — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:32:24 GMT

Although the state of Iowa draws its name from the Ioway tribe of American Indians, it was also a home to colonists from New France, as well as farmers who made it part of the Corn Belt.

Whether your Iowa ancestors were European explorers or arrived with westward settlers, our upcoming Iowa Genealogy Crash Course webinar by Diana Crisman Smith and Gary Smith will answer all your questions about Hawkeye State heritage.

Diana and Gary let slip these "preview" tips from the webinar to share with you:

• Iowa is the 29th state, attaining statehood in December 1846. Birth and marriage records began in 1880 and death records in 1891. There are some online indexes (and even record images) you can use from home—at least to get enough information to request original records. We'll help you use these online sources, and tell you where to go for the originals.

• Iowa is one of the lucky states with great state censuses. In the webinar, we'll talk about when they were taken, what information they include, where to find them, and how to use them. You'll see examples of one of the greatest censuses in the country (in our opinions:) and the three pages of information on each enumerated individual.

• Land has always been one of Iowa's most important assets. The first sale of most land was from the federal government to individuals. Using the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office database and other sources, we'll show you how to find land records and what they mean to your research.

• The Iowa Genealogical Society is large and active. We'll have some tips on researching using the society's library in Des Moines. If you have Iowa roots, this is one society you should join.

The Iowa Genealogy Crash Course webinar takes place Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. ET (that's 6 p.m. CT, 5 p.m. MT and 4 p.m. PT). Once you're registered, you'll receive access to view the recorded webinar again as many times as you want, a PDF copy of the presentation slides and 12 pages of additional handouts that'll help you find Iowa ancestors.

Sign up for the Iowa Genealogy Crash Course now to save $10 with our early bird discount!

Find Your Ancestors' Military Records Online

Diane — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 13:59:22 GMT

Just about everyone has an ancestor (or more) who served in the military, and the records of their service can be rich with genealogy answers: compiled military service records (aka CMSRs), pension applications, bounty land warrants, draft registrations, discharge papers, citations, regimental histories, burial records, veterans questionnaires—the list goes on.

Our upcoming webinar Online Military Records: Document Your Family's Service will help you use online resources to find your family's US military records. You'll learn:

what types of military records might exist for your ancestors and where to find them
how to track down draft registrations (even if your ancestor never served)
how to trace ancestors' service in the American Revolution, Civil War, World Wars and other US wars
the best websites for finding military records, including Fold3, the Daughters of the American Revolution genealogy database and more

Plus you'll be able to submit your own military research questions to presenter David A. Fryxell both when you register and during the live webinar.

The hourlong Online Military Records webinar is Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. ET (that's 6 p.m. CT, 5 p.m. MT and 4 p.m. PT).

Your registration includes access to the webinar recording to watch again as often as you want, a 25-page handout of the presentation slides, and a six-page handout of additional information on finding online military records.

Click here to lean more about our Online Military Records webinar (and save $10 on your registration with our early bird discount).

5 Connecticut Research Tips from D. Joshua Taylor

Diane — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 14:31:28 GMT

D. Joshua Taylor, the New England genealogy expert who delivered genealogy news to several famous folks on NBC's "Who Do You think You Are?" is hard at work putting together the Connecticut Genealogy Crash Course webinar he'll present next Thursday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.

Josh shares these Connecticut research tips, which he'll expand on in the Connecticut Genealogy Crash Course:

Many of the common resources for Connecticut research have been published, transcribed, retranscribed, and republished in various formats, so always look for the original source of the information. In the webinar, we'll discuss key resources for tracing Connecticut families, including the Barbour and Hale records collections, which require a bit of sleuthing to use effectively.
Connecticut keeps probate records by districts, rather than by counties or towns. But there's a quick way to search all of Connecticut's probate records through one central source! Tune in to the webinar to learn how.
Connecticut's shared borders can cause dilemmas for genealogists. We'll talk briefly about the complexities surrounding the western border with New York and ideas for tracing Connecticut families who might've spent time in and around Dutchess County, NY.
Subscribe to the Connecticut Society of Genealogists' quarterly The Connecticut Nutmegger. It'll keep you up to date on Connecticut resources and provide book reviews, record abstracts and other guidance.
If you have a chance, visit the Connecticut State Library. Although many of its resources are on microfilm (much of it available through interlibrary loan or from the Family History Library), there's nothing like researching on-site and using resources in the original formats.

Got Connecticut ancestors? Register for the Connecticut Genealogy Crash Course now and you'll save $10 with our early bird special and get a chance to submit your Connecticut research question to Josh ahead of time.

Get Your Connecticut Genealogy Questions Answered!

Diane — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:16:18 GMT

Calling genealogists with Connecticut kin: Get help tracing your Constitution State ancestors in our upcoming Connecticut Genealogy Crash Course webinar.

Presenter D. Joshua Taylor, whom you might recall revealing roots information to the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker and Rob Lowe on NBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?," will share secrets to discovering your family tree in Connecticut.

What will you learn? Among the strategies Taylor will show you:

how to find resources such as vital records (going back as early as 1650!), church records, censuses, court records and more
tricks for tracing Dutch, English, Italian, Irish and other ethnic ancestors
the best places to search for Connecticut ancestors online

You'll have the chance to submit your Connecticut genealogy questions to Taylor when you register, and again during the webinar.

Registrants also get copies of the presentation slides plus handouts including Family Tree Magazine's Connecticut State Guide and New Haven City Guide, and they can to view the webinar again as many times as they like.

Here are the Connecticut Genealogy Crash Course basics:

Date: Thursday, Sept. 27
Time: 7-8 p.m. ET (starts at 6 p.m. CT, 5 p.m. MT and 4 p.m. PT)
Price: $49.99 (register now to save $10 with our early bird special!)

Click here to join us for the Connecticut Genealogy Crash Course!

How To Handle Sticky Genealogy Situations

Diane — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:46:14 GMT

Not sure how to approach a stranger you think may be related to you? Been trying to get copies of family photos from a relative who's hogging them all? Got a distant cousin who won't correct wrong ancestral information in his online family tree?

We'll help you handle these and other potentially frustrating genealogy etiquette issues in our upcoming webinar Solutions To Sticky Situations: A Guide To Genealogy Etiquette, Thursday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. ET.

Presenter Thomas MacEntee, who works with hundreds of genealogists as the founder of GeneaBloggers, will talk about:

Tips for getting reluctant family members to cooperate
Best practices for working with librarians, court clerks and others important to your research
What to do when other researchers won’t correct wrong ancestral information
Resolving genealogy conflicts
The dos and don’ts of sharing and collaboration (including respecting copyright and the right way to get and give credit)
How to handle common pet peeves courteously but effectively

And you'll get the opportunity to submit your own genealogy etiquette dilemmas when you register and during the live webinar.

Aebinar registrants also receive access to view the recording again as often as they want, the 25-plus-page PDF of the presentation slides for future reference, and 10 pages of additional downloadable handouts.

The hour-long webinar takes place Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. ET (that's 6 p.m. CT, 5 p.m. Mountain and 4 p.m. Pacific).

Sign up now to save $10! Click here for more details and to register for Solutions To Sticky Situations: A Guide To Genealogy Etiquette.

Get a Crash Course in Louisiana Genealogy Research

Diane — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:00:34 GMT

No other state has a character quite like the one Louisiana has inherited from its cultural mix of American Indians, Spanish, French, British, Africans, Germans, Anglo- Americans, Irish, Italians and others.

Were your ancestors residents of this unique state? Get guidance on researching them in our Louisiana Genealogy Crash Course live webinar with Charlotte Marie Bocage.

You'll learn about

Louisiana's parishes
how to trace colonial kin
where to find important records such as vital, land, census and other records
tips for discovering African-American, Cajun (descendants of Acadians expelled from Canada) and Creole (New World descendants from colonial settlers) roots in Louisiana
important repositories and websites.

The hourlong webinar takes place Monday, Aug. 27 at 1pm EST (that's noon CST, 11am MST and 10am PST).

After the webinar, all registrants receive a PDF of the presentation slides and access to the live recording to view again as often as they want.

Register now and you'll receive the Family Tree Magazine Louisiana State Research Guide and our New Orleans City Guide—and you'll save $10 with our early bird pricing.

Scanning Old Family Photos With Flip-Pal

Diane — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 17:02:43 GMT

Now that we're carrying the Flip-Pal mobile scanner in ShopFamilyTree.com, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, so I gave it a try on one of my favorite pictures: My great-grandparents on their porch in Bellevue, Ky., about 1925, judging from my grandma's age (she's the baby).

The scanner is nice and light, about the size of a book, and it runs on four AA batteries. The scanning window is smaller than a desktop scanner, 4x6 inches, so you need to scan a larger document in parts and then stitch them together. (The scanner comes with Easy-Stitch software to do this.)

You can scan at a resolution of 300 or 600 dpi. 300 is the lowest recommended dpi for images you want to digitally archive, and will allow you to make a good print that's the same size as the original photo. 600 dpi is even better, because you can enlarge the photo before printing it.

I tried the Sketch Kit, sold separately from the scanner, which lets you annotate photos and documents in a low-tech way. It's a clear acrylic panel you place over your picture and write on with an erasable marker, like so:

Then to scan the annotated photo, you pop out the Flip-Pal lid, flip the scanner over and press the big green button to scan the Sketch panel on top of your picture:

(I kept accidentally pressing the green button during the lid removal and flipping.) Here's that scan:

You'll also want the photo itself, minus the Sketch panel. For that, you pop the lid back in and place the picture face down on the scanner, as you would for a desktop scanner. The scan:

The images are saved onto an SD card. I discovered just this morning that my computer here at work has an SD card reader—perfect. (The scanner is also compatible with wireless Eye-fi SD cards.) If you don't have a card reader, you can plug the card into the included SD-to-USB adaptor and stick that into your computer's USB drive.

You can see technical specs for the Flip-Pal scanner here and FAQs here. I did these two quick scans without reading instructions, but I'll check them out to learn more about the scanner settings and how to use the stitching software.

You can find the Flip-Pal scanner and accessories such as the Sketch Kit and a carrying case in ShopFamilyTree.com. If you're trying to decide whether to buy, we've also got a Flip-Pal product review article download.

Got a bunch of family photos and heirlooms you need to archive and share? Learn how in our Aug. 9 Digitize Your Family History webinar.

Learn How to Digitize and Archive Your Genealogy Documents, Photos and Heirlooms

Diane — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:15:02 GMT

Attending Antiques Roadshow last weekend has definitely put me in the mindset of figuring out what family heirlooms we have and where they came from, and how to preserve and share their stories with family.

My sisters and I, for example, didn't know about our great-grandmother's bride's basket until I asked my mom if she had something she'd like me to take to the show for appraisal.

So I'm glad to see us doing a webinar called Digitize Your Family History: How to Preserve Precious Photos, Documents and Heirlooms. It's on Thursday, Aug. 9, presented by Denise Levenick, known as the Family Curator and author of How to Archive Family Keepsakes (Family Tree Books).

If you register early, you'll be able to submit a scanned photo or document, or a picture of an heirloom that Denise might use as an example during the webinar. That means you could get preservation and digitization advice specific to your family treasure. ("Early" is the key word.)

Here's what else you'll learn in the Digitize Your Family History webinar:

What items you should digitize
How to deal with fragile and oversized items, as well as heirlooms you can’t scan (like our bridal basket)
Tips for creating digital copies of your photos and documents
How to archive and organize digital copies for your own research and for posterity
Key terms and online resources for digitizing heirlooms

Registrants will also get a free preview chapter of Denise's book How to Archive Family Keepsakes, and a coupon for the book.

And as in every webinar, they'll receive copies of the presentation slides, as well as access to view the webinar again as often as they like (that goes even if you register but for some reason miss the webinar).

Digitize Your Family History takes place Thursday, Aug. 9 at 7 p.m. Eastern time (that's 6 p.m. Central, 5 p.m. Mountain and 4 p.m. Pacific).

Click here to learn more and register!

North Carolina Genealogy Crash Course!

Diane — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 01:37:54 GMT

Are you researching (or hoping to research) the genealogy of your Tar Heel State ancestors?

North Carolina is rich with vital records and other resources to leaf out your family tree, but it also comes with some genealogical challenges—early headright patents, the Granville District, a highly mobile population, a shifting crazy quilt of counties and the fluid border with Virginia.

All this and more will become clear during our North Carolina Genealogy Crash Course webinar, Monday, July 30 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (6 Central, 5 Mountain, 4 Pacific).

Genealogy expert and Family Tree Magazine founding editor David A. Fryxell will present

Essential North Carolina history
Details on where to find vital, land, immigration and other records for the state
What ethnicity-based records your North Carolina ancestor may have left
The best websites and offline resources for North Carolina research

Attendees receive special access to view the webinar again as often as they like, plus a PDF of the presentation slides for future reference. And as a bonus, webinar registrants will also get our North Carolina Research Guide.

Register now to save $10 with our early bird special! Learn more about the North Carolina Genealogy Crash Course in ShopFamilyTree.com.

The No. 1 Resource for Cluster & Collateral Genealogy

Diane — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:56:27 GMT

What is the number one resource for using "cluster genealogy" (that is, investigating your ancestors' family, associates and neighbors) to get information on your ancestors?

Find out in this quick video preview of our upcoming webinar Using Cluster and Collateral Searches to Beat Brick Walls, with genealogy expert Thomas MacEntee.

To learn more strategies for doing cluster genealogy research, register for the Cluster and Collateral Searches webinar.

It's scheduled for next Thursday, July 12, at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (6 Central, 5 Mountain, 4 Pacific). You still have time to save $10 with our early bird price!

How to Beat Brick Walls With "Cluster Genealogy"

Diane — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 13:18:50 GMT

Say you needed someone, such as a friend or coworker, and you couldn't find the person. What would you do? Probably start calling his or her family, friends, neighbors, anyone you could think of.

Now what if you can't find great-grandma or great-great-grandpa? Follow the same kind of approach: Check with your ancestor's FAN club—that is, the friends, associates and neighbors with whom he or she interacted.

This classic brick wall-busting strategy—also called "cluster" or "collateral" research—is easier said than done. How do you find out who your ancestor's FANs were, and how do you "talk" to them to find out what they can tell you about your family?

Our July 12 webinar, Using Cluster and Collateral Searches to Beat Brick Walls, will answer these questions for you, showing you:

how cluster genealogy can solve your research brick walls
how to identify the people in your ancestor’s network
how to research your ancestor's FANs, even if they're not related to you
how to piece together cluster and collateral evidence
the best websites and offline resources for doing cluster and collateral genealogy research

Here are the webinar details:

Thursday, July 12, 2012, 7 p.m. Eastern Time (6 p.m. Central, 5 p.m. Mountain, 4 p.m. Pacific)
presented by Thomas MacEntee
60 minutes
Participants receive copies of the presentation slides, access to the recorded webinar to view again, and a bonus download of Family Tree Magazine's Cluster Genealogy Guide.

Take a Crash Course in Texas Genealogy!

Diane — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:15:00 GMT

I've had a little taste of Texas genealogy research. The Lone Star State is where my great-grandfather was jailed and later pardoned for violating local liquor laws, and where my grandfather spent time in an orphanage and went to college.

So I'm excited about learning how to dig deeper into my Texas family history in our next webinar!

Texas genealogist Randy Whited will show genealogists how to research their roots Texas-style in our Texas Genealogy Crash Course webinar. Here are the details:

Texas Genealogy Crash Course
Wednesday, June 27
8 p.m. Eastern (7 Central, 6 Mountain, 5 Pacific)
60 minutes

You'll learn important state history, details on finding records such as vital and immigration records, the best websites and resources for Texas research—including the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, which was helpful in my search—and more.

Webinar attendees you'll participate in the live event and Q&A session, get access to the presentation slides and the recording to view again as often as you like, and you'll receive a free PDF of our Texas Research Guide book.

Sign up now to save $10 on your Texas Genealogy Crash Course registration in ShopFamilyTree.com.

Crash Course in Wisconsin Genealogy

Diane — Fri, 25 May 2012 18:07:09 GMT

Do you have ancestors in Wisconsin? Then get ready to rev up your genealogy research with our Wisconsin Genealogy Crash Course webinar next Wednesday, May 30, at 8 p.m. ET (that's 7 CT, 6 MT, 5 PT).

In this webinar sneak peek, presenter Lori B. Bessler, reference librarian at the resource-rich Wisconsin Historical Society, gives you the lowdown on US and state census records for Wisconsin, as well as vital records availability.

You can register for the Wisconsin Genealogy Crash Course in ShopFamilyTree.com. (Sign up today to save $10!)

Canadian Genealogy for Americans

Diane — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:28:05 GMT

Has your genealogy research led you to ancestors in Canada? That's not surprising—folks have been crossing the US-Canadian border for a loooong time. Consider:

After the American Revolution, around 35,000 Loyalists headed for Canada's Maritime Provinces.
>
By 1812, about 80 percent of the estimated 100,000 settlers in southern Ontario province were of American origin.
Approximately 900,000 French-Canadians emigrated to the United States from 1840 to 1930.
As available US land diminished in the late 1880s, Canada's Prairie Provinces saw a massive influx of Americans.>
Around 1895, when US border-crossing records begin, as many as 40 percent of immigrants to Canada planned to end up in the United States.
In 1897, the Klondike Gold Rush spurred a stampede of Americans to the Yukon.

Fortunately for US residents tracing Canadian ancestors, an abundance of resources is available—but where do you start?

Why, with our next webinar, Canadian Genealogy for Americans.

Author and lecturer Lisa A. Alzo will introduce you to major Canadian genealogy resources and websites, key record groups and essential history. You'll also receive our digital Canadian Genealogy Guide when you register.

Here are the Canadian Genealogy for Americans webinar details:

Tuesday, June 5, 2012
8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central, 6 p.m. Mountain, 5 p.m. Pacific)
Duration: 60 minutes
$49.99 (but register now to save $10!)
Registration includes: participation in the live event, access to the recording to watch again as often as you like, a PDF of the presentation slides, our Canadian Genealogy Guide

Our Canadian Genealogy for Americans webinar will enable you to formulate a solid research plan for discovering your Canadian kin. Register at ShopFamilyTree.com.

Your Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com Webinar

Diane — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:27:09 GMT

So you've got an Ancestry.com subscription, but you have a nagging suspicion that you're not getting your money's worth. You might still be missing that breakthrough genealogy record, or you could be frustrated by the sea of search results you get—some clearly not even close to being your ancestor.

Or maybe you're thinking about investing in an Ancestry.com subscription and wondering if it'll be worth it.

Our May 23 webinar will answer your questions and help you get the most out of your Ancestry.com membership. It's called Your Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com: Tips, Hints and Hacks for Finding Your Ancestors. (Family Tree Magazine isn't affiliated with Ancestry.com, so this webinar won't be a commercial.)

The webinar will cover:

How to efficiently navigate Ancestry.com
Tricks for finding the record collections you need
Search tips for locating hard-to-find ancestors in Ancestry.com databases
Things Ancestry.com doesn’t tell you (like the limitations of its collections and how many freebies are on the site)

The Your Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com webinar takes place May 23 at 8 p.m. Eastern (that's 7 p.m. Central, 6 p.m. Mountain and 5 p.m. Pacific). It's presented by David A. Fryxell, a veteran genealogist and a Family Tree Magazine contributing editor.

We'll help you start finding the genealogy answers you need in the world's largest genealogy database website. Register for Your Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com now to take advantage of our $10 off early bird special!

Minnesota Genealogy Crash Course!

Diane — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:25:17 GMT

When I blogged about the April 25 Minnesota Genealogy Crash Course webinar, (now available on demand in ShopFamilyTree.com), I teased you by asking “What do genealogy, baseball, "Prairie Home Companion," the Minnesota State Fair, WCCO Radio, and the Lennon sisters all have in common?

(Actually, webinar instructor and Minnesotan Paula Stuart-Warren did the teasing, but I helped.)

We didn't want to leave you hanging, so here's the answer in Paula's own words:

It’s just another example of “genealogy is everywhere!”

More years ago than I care to remember, Tim Russell, a WCCO Radio personality in Minnesota, would talk about his relationship to the Lennon Sisters. Then he'd play the Lawrence Welk bubble music. My mom would call me and tell me to figure this out for Tim because she was getting tired of the bubble music.

One day I called the station and said that yes, if Tim and the Lennon sisters shared a common great great grandfather, they were third cousins. His producer asked me to share this on the air. Shy ol’ me gulped and forged ahead.

She also asked if I'd be on his radio show during the Minnesota State Fair. That produced a really big gulp, as the show was broadcast from a big glass booth for all fair-goers to see. We decided that I'd do some research on Russell's family and present it to him on air.

Research at the Minnesota and Wisconsin state historical societies proved the third cousin connection between Tim and the Lennon Sisters. Their common ancestors Judge James Lennon and his wife Catherine Bellew were born in Ireland, but lived most of their lives in Appleton, Wis. I also turned up more on Russell's great-grandfather George Lennon’s involvement with the St. Paul Saints baseball team in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (Baseball teams have their own genealogies.)

Tim shared the research with the Lennons. I was privileged to be thanked on air in a call with Kathy Lennon, and I received some nice thank-you notes. I let them all know that my then-8th-grade son helped (he still does research today at 35 years old).

So, now we have the genealogy, baseball, Lennon Sisters, Minnesota State Fair, and WCCO radio connection. How do we fit in the public radio show "Prairie Home Companion"? Tim is one of the show's actors, creating multiple sounds and voices.

Thank you to all those who joined in the Minnesota Genealogy Crash Course webinar and for asking such great questions. Kerry Scott from Family Tree University did a great job. If you didn’t get a chance to join us, the recorded Minnesota webinar is available through ShopFamilyTree.com.

Genealogists Won't Go Hungry in Minnesota

Diane — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:17:30 GMT

When I heard Minnesota described as a "meaty" state for genealogy research, I couldn't resist asking local expert Paula Stuart-Warren for sneak peeks at what she'll cover in our upcoming Minnesota Genealogy Crash Course webinar.

Here's what Paula sent:

Your ancestor wasn't a U.S. citizen in 1918? There might be a two-page Minnesota record with his her name, date and place of birth, residence, occupation, names of children and relatives, arrival in the United States and more. And it's indexed.
How many avenues are there to locate a birth, death or marriage record? We'll count the multiple ways.
Military service from Minnesota? You'll learn about the state's special questionnaires and bonus applications for the 19th and 20th century.
Need a wedding story, business ad, obituary, or other newspaper item? Learn the best place to obtain these.
Census indexes? Are there more for Minnesota than other states? Hmmm...
What's the largest ethnic group in Minnesota? (It might not be the one that immediately springs to mind.)
Are there really 10,000 lakes?
What do genealogy, baseball, Prairie Home Companion, the Minnesota State Fair, WCCO Radio, and the Lennon sisters all have in common?

Well, now I'm getting really curious! The Minnesota Genealogy Crash Course webinar with Paula Stuart-Warren is next Wednesday, April 25, at 8 p.m. (now available On Demand!)

Find out more about the Minnesota Genealogy Crash Course here.

Get Minnesota Genealogy Tips & Resources

Diane — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:49:14 GMT

If you've got roots in Minnesota, you should know the state has a lot more than lakes, the Mall of America and Garrison Keillor.

Minnesota also is a resource-rich state for discovering your family history, as you'll learn in our April 25 Minnesota Genealogy Crash Course: Find Your North Star State Ancestors webinar.

Lifelong Minnesotan and genealogy expert <a href=" http:="" paulastuartwarren.blogspot.com="" target="_blank" border="0">Paula Stuart-Warren will spill secrets and share her favorite sources for finding Minnesota ancestors, which include the terrific Minnesota Historical Society (it has great online resources, too) and regular state censuses from 1865 to 1905.

Whether you come from Minnesota's American Indian residents, early fur traders and soldiers, or later German and Scandinavian settlers, you'll learn how to find ancestor answers.

Here are the details:

Date: Wednesday, April 25
Starting time: 8 p.m. Eastern (7 Central/ 6 Mountain/ 5 Pacific)
Presenter: Paula Stuart-Warren
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $39.99 when you register before April 18

Click here to register for the Minnesota Genealogy Crash Course at ShopFamilyTree.com.

Finding Your Ancestors' Probate Records

Diane — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:09:38 GMT

If you have dead ancestors, you should learn about probate records, it's been said. Probate files can be rich sources of genealogical information, and even poor folks might've left them.

So I hear, anyway. I haven't actually used probate records. Like many genealogists, I'm not quite sure how to approach them. And I need to get my act together fast, because I'm headed to the Cuyahoga County Probate Court this month.

Good thing our Using Probate Records live webinar, presented by professional researcher Marian Pierre-Louis, is Thursday, April 5 at 8 p.m. ET.

Marian will show you:

What probate records are
How to find probate records
Different types of probate records
What you'll find in a typical probate record
How to make it easier to access probate records
Why probate records are critical to your genealogical success

Here's the basic info on the Using Probate Records webinar:

Date: Thursday, April 5, 2012
Starting time: 8 p.m. Eastern (7 Central/ 6 Mountain/ 5 Pacific)
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: $49.99 ($39.99 special if you register before April 2)

As usual, registered attendees will be able to download the presentation and slides to view again whenever they want. Click here to register for the Using Probate Records webinar in ShopFamilyTree.com.

FREE Webinar: Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner for Fabulous Family Photos

Diane — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:33:39 GMT

We're hosting a free webinar next Tuesday about one of the most talked-about photo-preservation tools in genealogy: the Flip-Pal mobile scanner.

Presenters Thomas MacEntee and Diane Miller will show you:

tips for using Flip-Pal in your genealogy work
hints for archiving family photos with Flip-Pal
how Flip-Pal can help you share photos with your family
how to download the webinar presentation and slides for your future reference

Registered attendees will get access to the webinar to view again as many times as they like (we'll e-mail instructions after the webinar).

Plus, all registrants will receive a special product offer!

The free Flip-Pal webinar is Tuesday, March 27, at 2 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Central, noon Mountain, 11 a.m. Pacific).

The presentation is about 45 minutes, plus 10 minutes for Q&A.

Click here to register for our free webinar Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner for Fabulous Family Photos.

Upcoming Genealogy Webinars: Census Secrets and Indiana Crash Course

Diane — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:44:52 GMT

Just a quick reminder that our Online Census Secrets webinar is this Thursday, March 15, at 8 p.m. ET.

Family Tree Magazine publisher Allison Dolan will share key facts about censuses, where to find free census records and what to expect when the 1940 census is released. She'll also show you how to use the major online collections to find your ancestors, using real examples from webinar viewers to demo census search strategies.

Click here to learn more about the Online Census Secrets webinar.

And our Indiana Crash Course webinar is right around the corner next Tuesday, March 20 at 8 p.m. ET. If you have Hoosier ancestors like I do, click here to find out more about this learning opportunity.

Upcoming Webinars: Online Census Research and Tracing Indiana Ancestors

Diane — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:46:44 GMT

So much has changed in the online census landscape—and even more changes are in store, with the 1940 census release on April 2—that we're sharing search tips in our new Online Census Secrets webinar with presenter (and Family Tree Magazine publisher) Allison Dolan.

You'll learn key facts about censuses, where to find free census records, how to use the major online collections, search strategies for elusive ancestors and what to expect when using the 1940 census. Here's the basic info:

Date: Thursday, March 15
Time: 8-9 p.m. Eastern (starts at 7 Central/ 6 Mountain/ 5 Pacific)
Price: $49.99 (limited-time $39.99 early bird special)
To register: Register for the Online Census Secrets webinar at ShopFamilyTree.com.

Hoosier Great-granddaddy? Whether you're descended from the native Miami or Potawotomi tribes, pioneers on the National Road, railroad workers of the 1850s, or African-Americans who migrated north in the early 1900s, it's likely that at some point, some of your ancestors were in Indiana.

In our Indiana Genealogy Crash Course webinar, professional genealogist Harold Henderson will show you his strategies for finding your Hoosier ancestors. You'll learn history essentials, how to find vital records and other important Indiana resources, the best websites for Indiana ancestor research and more. The basics:

Date: Tuesday, March 20
Time: 8-9 p.m. Eastern (starts at 7 Central/ 6 Mountain/ 5 Pacific)
Price: $49.99 (limited-time $39.99 early bird special)
Bonus: includes our Indiana Research Guide download
To register: You can register for the Indiana Crash Course webinar at ShopFamilyTree.com.

They’re Alive! Get Genealogy Answers by Finding Living Relatives

Diane — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:16:22 GMT

So I think I finally found out whatever happened to my great-grandmother's brother, who was my grandfather's baptismal sponsor. But I'm feeling tentative about the next steps: researching that family forward and then (gulp) contacting a descendant to try to find out if we really are cousins.

So I'm looking forward to this week's Family Tree University webinar, "They’re Alive! Finding Living Relatives."

"Living people can be found using some unlikely online tools," says presenter Thomas MacEntee. "You’ll be surprised at how much information is made public about a person and how to find it. And it is all legal and access is often free."

If that makes you feel just a little bit like a stalker, don't worry—Thomas also will talk about the best, non-stalkerish approach when contacting possible relatives. Phone call? Email? Letter? What should you say?

Here's the webinar info:

Presenter: Thomas MacEntee, owner of Geneabloggers and High-Definition Genealogy
Date: Thursday, Feb. 9
Time: 8-9 p.m. Eastern/5-6 p.m. Pacific
Bonus: Register today and you'll also receive a free download of our guide Research Strategies: Find Living Relatives.

Go here to learn more and register for our They’re Alive! Finding Living Relatives webinar.

Get $10 Off Two Webinars in ShopFamilyTree.com

Diane — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:00:53 GMT

Kentucky and Tennessee genealogy often goes hand-in-hand due to the states' similar history on the Old Frontier. Many settlers in both areas arrived via the Cumberland Gap in the late 1700s, so if you have ancestors in one state, you might have them in both, or your people may have spent time in both.

We want to make it easier for you to learn about genealogy research in both areas, so we're offering a $10-off-two webinar deal:

Kentucky Genealogy Crash Course
Tennessee Genealogy Crash Course
They're Alive!: Finding Living Relatives (so you can use the discount even if your ancestors stayed in either Kentucky or Tennessee—just about all of us could use secrets for tracking down distant cousins)

Enter coupon code WEBTRIO10 at checkout to get this deal.

Upcoming Webinars: Make $ with Your Genealogy Blog; Kentucky and Tennessee Crash Courses

Diane — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:17:49 GMT

We've got a few Family Tree University webinars lined up for you, so I'll start with the soonest first:

Make Money From Your Genealogy Blog is tomorrow (or maybe tonight, depending when you read this), Jan. 12, a 8 pm Eastern. Our online editor and Clue Wagon blogger Kerry Scott is presenting, and she has promised to spill all about what you can really expect when it comes to monetizing your blog.

Our Kentucky Genealogy Crash Course, taking place Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 8 pm Eastern, will be presented by local records expert J. Mark Lowe.

Among other things, he'll help you sort out the state's confusing land records. Land grants in this state-land state originated with colonial and other state governments, and the process of acquiring land was inconsistent before statehood. You still have time to save 20 percent on your registration for this webinar!

Our Tennessee Genealogy Crash Course, scheduled for Feb. 23 at 8 pm Eastern, also will be presented by Lowe.

Look for him to share details on resources such as an 1891 enumeration of males over 21 that can help substitute, and why your early "North Carolina"-born ancestors might really have been born in Tennessee. Save 20 percent on registration for a limited time.

It's A Hot Genealogy Mess

Diane — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:42:07 GMT

Our publisher Allison Dolan has been slowly digging through the inherited family archive she's affectionately calling her "hot genealogy mess."

Thank goodness for our upcoming Organize Your Family Archive webinar and the advice from its presenter, Denise Levenick, because Allison's found some things she knows have historical value, but she's not sure what to do with. Here are some contents of just one of the two dozen boxes Allison inherited:

Maybe you've shopped at a Kroger grocery store? In 1883 in Cincinnati, Bernard Kroger founded what's now the largest US grocery chain.

Allison uncovered letters and newspaper clippings from Kroger family members. A handwritten notecard states that one of her ancestors was B.H. Kroger's private secretary from 1928 to 1938.

Another treasure is an album full of photos from the South Pacific. It belonged to a woman named Dorie, who may have been a friend of an aunt.

Color me jealous. We'll keep showing you more peeks inside this archive.

The Early Bird Special for the Organize Your Family Archive webinar ends Nov. 20, so if you have your own hot genealogy mess going on, register now.

Free Webinar: Have an Organized Holiday Season

Diane — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:07:59 GMT

Halloween’s over, which means we’re in the holiday season. My blood pressure just went up a little.

Trying to take care of your gift list, keep family traditions going, get things done at work around vacation schedules, and squeeze in genealogy time can make the holidays one of the most hectic times of the year.

But they don’t have to be. Our colleagues over at Betterway Home are hosting a free webinar to help you cut the chaos, stress and clutter from your holiday season.

The free Have an Organized Holiday Season webinar is presented by professional organizers Jennifer Ford Berry, author of Organize Now! and Organize Now! Your Money, Business & Career, and Susan Fay West, author of Organize For a Fresh Start.

It takes place Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. Eastern (11 a.m. Pacific).

Tips for how to organize decorations, gifts and more
Advice to help you manage and enjoy your holiday schedule
Help identifying your priorities so you value everything you do
Participation in the live Q&A session—get detailed answers to your specific questions
Access to the webinar recording to view again as many times as you like
Plus a coupon for 20 percent off the presenters’ new books

This year, get organized before you get overwhelmed. Click here to register for the free Have an Organized Holiday Season webinar.

Start Writing Your Life Story: Watch the Free Webinar

Diane — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:11:07 GMT

Everyone has a story to tell, but recording those stories for future generations can be a daunting task. What should you share? How much should you write? How can you clear the fog from memories made long ago?

Sunny Jane Morton, author of My Life & Times: A Guided Journal For Collecting Your Stories, answered these and more questions in last week’s free webinar Start Writing Your Life Stories.

One idea that struck me right at the beginning is to imagine that a biography has been written about your life. When you look at the book jacket, what does it say? What main theme of your life, setting and colorful characters does it mention. “In the broadest sense, that book jacket is your story,” Morton says. “Everyday life is found in the chapters inside.”

If you missed the Start Writing Your Life Stories webinar—or you want to watch it again (still free!)—just click here and fill in your name and email address.

How to Use Google+ for Genealogy

Allison — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:23:10 GMT

Google has given genealogists some very helpful tools—Google Earth, Book Search and News Archive to name three—but maybe you’re nonplussed by Google+.

This new social networking tool has taken the genealogy world by storm, and we won’t let you be left out if we can help it. Our next webinar, Genealogist's Guide to Google+, will show you how to use Google+. Your registration for the live event even includes 30 days of one-on-one tech support from instructor Kerry Scott.

You’ll learn how to get started, set up your “circles,” and take advantage of the genealogical possibilities on Google+. Here’s a sampling of tips Kerry will share:

Fill out your profile and upload a picture before you start adding friends. If you don't, people may mistake you for a spammer.

Most genealogists will add you to their circles even if you're a complete stranger … but only if your profile indicates that you're into family history.

You can have people in multiple circles. Is Aunt Millie into genealogy? Add her to your Family and Genealogy circles, so she sees the cute kid pictures and the big research breakthrough you had at the library last weekend.

If you're posting something to a specific circle to keep it from being public, make sure you use the "lock this post" feature to prevent others from sharing it. Otherwise, one of your carefully selected circle members can share it with anyone.

The hour-long webinar takes place Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. Eastern (that’s 7 Central, 6 Mountain, 5 Pacific).

In addition to the month of tech support, attendees will get access to the webinar recording to view again as many times as they want,plus a PDF of the presentation slides.

Learn more and register for the Genealogist's Guide to Google+ webinar at ShopFamilyTree.com (for a limited time, our Early Bird registration special saves you 20 percent!).

Free Family History Month Webinars

Diane — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:26:31 GMT

You’ve been checking out our Family History Month Daily Deal & Giveaway news (five down, 26 to go!), but I wanted to tell you about two more special happenings this month:

Our free 60-minute webinar Start Writing Your Life Stories with Sunny Jane Morton, author of the book My Life & Times: A Guided Journal For Collecting Your Stories, takes place Thursday, Oct. 13 at 1 pm Eastern Time (noon CT, 11 am MT, 10 am PT).

Sunny will share tips and ideas for capturing the stories of a lifetime—your own or those of a loved one. Click here to sign up for this webinar.

Update: Our free webinar, Be a Family History Detective: Secrets to Starting Your Genealogy, with Desmond Walls Allen, author of the book Family History Detective, is scheduled for Oct. 26 at 1 pm Eastern Time (noon CT, 11 am MT, 10 am PT).

Allen will share essential advice for getting your family history search off the ground. Click here to sign up.

Get Google Tips in Free Webinar

Allison — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:05:04 GMT

I'll bet everyone reading this blog uses Google to help with their family history work in some fashion, from ancestor searches to emailing cousins. But are you taking advantage of all its genealogy tools? Do you have a search dilemma that's driving you crazy?

Lisa Louise Cooke will tackle those questions in a free 30-minute webinar called Ask the Google Guru. Tune in Thursday, Sept. 1. at 1 p.m. Eastern time to hear Lisa's tips. You can submit a question in advance on the registration page.

That day, we'll also be releasing the Ultimate Google for Genealogists Collection of training tools by Lisa:

The Genealogist's Google Toolbox (book signed by Lisa)
Google Earth for Genealogy DVDs (2 volumes)
Search Engine Tips & Tricks on-demand webinar
Google Tools for Genealogists independent study course from Family Tree University

Watch for details on ShopFamilyTree.com. And be sure to register for the webinar! If you can't make it Thursday, you'll be able to watch the recording online afterward.