Gena Philibert-Ortega is a genealogist, author and contributor to Family Tree Magazine. Her primary passions are history and food, which she'll blend together like cake batter at this weekend's Fall Virtual Conference. In this guest post, the author of From the Family Kitchen talks in detail about her VC sessions:

Social history and genealogy go hand in hand. As family history researchers we tend to focus solely on the dates and places of our ancestor’s life. That’s important, but it’s one thing to know the dates and places and another to fully understand what was going on during that historical time period. Social history is the story of people’s everyday lives. Social history places your ancestors in context. It will even help make your research more interesting to the non-genealogists in your family. The session itself is called "Top 10 Tools For Social History", in which we'll talk about resources you can use for any research project. These will include images, online catalogs and collections.

My second presentation, "Cook up Answers About Immigrant Ancestors", is a chance to see social history in action. What does food have to do with your ancestor? Everything! Food is so integral to everything we do in our families. It’s part of celebrations, holidays and even somber events. Food and food history resources can help us learn far more about our ancestors. I can’t wait to tell you about all the available resources, such as community cookbooks.

Please join me at the Virtual Conference. What a great way to spend a weekend. Talking genealogy from the comfort of your own home!

ACT QUICKLY:Only three days until the conference! Register now for the Fall Virtual Conference and save $40 with coupon code FRIENDSOFGENA.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 9:28:10 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

Lisa Louise Cooke is both an author and podcaster extraordinaire. She produces the Genealogy Gems podcast, as well as the official podcast of Family Tree Magazine. In this guest post, she writes an open letter to those considering coming to her sessions for Family Tree University’s Fall Virtual Conference:

In the real estate world they say it’s all about Location, Location, Location! And the same holds true in the Genealogy world. Location is a key element in understanding the context of our ancestor’s lives and obtaining coveted genealogical documents. What better way to zero in on a location than with maps? My class Best Websites for Finding Historical Maps delivers the goods in a big way!

If you have ever listened to my show The Genealogy Gems Podcast at http://www.genealogygems.com then you know that maps, and working with them in programs like Google Earth, is one of my specialties. Historical maps offer an exciting way to do your own genealogical time travel. Please join me in a map-packed half hour that will provide you the best resources for obtaining FREE downloadable historical maps that will take you back to the time, and place, of your ancestors. See you in class!

NOTE:Act quickly—the conference starts this Friday, Sept. 14! Register now for the Fall Virtual Conference and save $40 with coupon code FRIENDSOFLISACOOKE.

Monday, September 10, 2012 4:16:24 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1]

• 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

• 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!)

Monday, September 10, 2012 1:16:18 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• on-demand webinars such as Using Probate Records or our Illinois or Michigan genealogy crash course
• the Genealogist's Census Pocket Reference to keep handy (it's full of information and tips, and it really does fit in your pocket)
• our Family Tree Essentials CD with how-tos on the basic genealogical records you need to search for
  
• any number of Family Tree University Independent Study courses

Friday, September 07, 2012 4:49:59 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• The International Society for Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE) has announced this year's winners of its annual Excellence in Writing competition—and we're thrilled to report first prize in the articles category goes to our own Sunny Jane Morton, for her December 2011 Family Tree Magazine article "Blue Collar Breakthroughs." In this article, Sunny explains how to research employment records of workers in the railroad, automobile and other industries. (You can get the December 2011 print issue here or the December 2011 digital download issue here.)

Congratulations to all the ISFHWE competition winners—you can see their names here!

• Shazami Design has released a Windows phone app called ThinkGenealogy, which aims to guide you through the research process. It features a research "map," shows how important concepts are related, explains the Genealogical Proof Standard, provides a glossary of genealogical terms and more. You can watch a video about how to use the app on YouTube  and purchase the app for $1.99 here. 
  
  
• Here's an interesting new product I saw at last week's FGS conference: The Heirloom Registry offers uniquely numbered labels (starting at 10 for $10) you affix to your family heirlooms, then you enter information about each heirloom in an online heirloom registry. Anyone who finds the labeled heirloom in the future can then go online and enter the number to access the details about it. Click here to learn more about how it works.
  

• The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) has promoted five-year staff member Ryan Woods to NEHGS assistant vice president for the website and library. Woods will oversee www.AmericanAncestors.org and the Boston-based NEHGS library, bringing those two areas into greater alignment with each other.
  
  

Friday, September 07, 2012 4:14:11 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

Diana Crisman Smith has been researching genealogy since childhood and has served as a lay librarian at the local Family History Center for more than 20 years. She has written for numerous genealogical publications, including current regular columns in the National Genealogical Society’s NewsMagazine and the Association of Professional Genealogists’ APG Quarterly. In this guest post, she talks about the two sessions she is presenting at Family Tree University’s Fall Virtual Conference: “Smarter Online Census Searching” and “Finding Land Records Online”.

I’m Diana Crisman Smith, and I’ve been researching my family since I was eleven years old. I have been helping others with their research for more than twenty years through writing, speaking, teaching and volunteering at the Family History Center. I have roots throughout the US and Europe, but US research is the starting place for all my family branches. Two of the most useful tools I use in US genealogical research are land records and census records.

Now that so many of the US censuses are available in online images or indexed online, researchers have a wonderful opportunity to use these important records. We all know that they are not perfect, since we can’t always find what we want easily. Join me to learn some tips to make the best use of these records by searching smarter.

I also love “playing in the dirt” with land records. If your ancestors were farmers, they are critical for you; if they were city folk, they still may have land purchases (they bought houses just like we do, which means land records). For those who were in the “Western states” (essentially west of the original colonies, plus a few special states), the Bureau of Land Management website is one of the most useful, but little-known, resources of the Federal Government. Come learn to use some of the great information available through this source.

Act quickly—the conference starts next Friday, Sept. 14! Register now for the Fall Virtual Conference and save $20 with coupon code FRIENDSOFDIANA.

Friday, September 07, 2012 10:20:37 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Google Earth and using maps in your research, with Lisa Louise Cooke
• photo restoration, with Denise Levenick
  
• using a genealogy research log, with Thomas MacEntee
• immigrant ancestors and their foods, with Gena Philibert-Ortega
• German place-names, with James M. Beidler

Thursday, September 06, 2012 9:33:23 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [2]

• Quicksheet: Historical Biographer's Guide to Cluster Research with advice from renowned genealogist Elizabeth Shown Mills
  
  
• 101 Brick Wall Busters with Family Tree Magazine experts' answers to readers genealogy questions
  
  
• Research Remedies CD with guides to research obstacles from maiden name mysteries to incognito immigrants
  
  
• Using Cluster and Collateral Searches to Beat Brick Walls recorded webinar with techniques for getting clues from records of your ancestors' friends, neighbors and relatives
  
  
• Step-by-Step Guide: How to Fix Common Genealogy Errors, a digital download article with strategies for spotting errors in your family tree (and keeping them from coming back)
  
  
• They're Alive! Finding Living Relatives recorded webinar has tips from genealogy sleuth Thomas MacEntee on finding cousins who might have family information
  
  
• Family Tree Problem Solver by Marcia Hoffman Rising, the newly revised classic book with strategies and case studies for breaking through brick walls

Thursday, September 06, 2012 9:11:22 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]

• Today, Wednesday, Sept. 5, at 4:30 p.m. ET, join our Tweet-up on Twitter with Gena Philibert-Ortega, who'll be talking about social history and tracing immigrants (we'll be using hashtag #FTUVC).

• Visit Family Tree Magazine's Facebook page Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 3 p.m. ET, to ask Diana Crisman Smith about using online censuses and land records.

• Stop by our Facebook page Thursday, Sept. 13, at 1 p.m. ET to get Rick Crume's advice on tracking down ancestors in UK civil registration records and Ireland's Griffith's Valuation.
  

• Lisa A. Alzo's tips for finding female ancestors' maiden names (Facebook)

• Lisa Louise Cooke's Google Earth and search tips (Facebook)

• Thomas MacEntee's favorite online tools and tricks (Facebook)

The Family Tree University Fall 2012 Virtual Genealogy Conference, taking place online Sept. 14-16, gives you access to 15 video classes, live chats, our exclusive conference message board, and our virtual exhibit hall (where you can win prizes by being part of our exhibitor scavenger hunt).

To learn more, visit FamilyTreeUniversity.com. (Pssst!: You can save $50 on conference registration with coupon code FTUVCFACEBOOK.)

Wednesday, September 05, 2012 12:34:13 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1]

Genealogy guru Rick Crume is a long-time contributing writer for Family Tree Magazine. At next week’s Fall Virtual Conference, he breaks free from his written word wheel house and brings you two interactive video presentations: "Using UK Civil Registrations" and "Tracing Irish Ancestors in Griffith's Valuation." No matter where over the pond your family hails from, the resources exist to dig out their stories. In this guest post, Rick gives a brief synopsis of his search-stimulating sessions:

If you have ancestors who emigrated from the British Isles in the nineteenth century, free online indexes are the perfect way to start tracing them. English and Welsh governments began recording births, marriages and deaths in 1837, but until recently, researchers had to physically visit Great Britain or spend hours scrolling through microfilm to thoroughly search the indexes. Now they’re available for free on several websites. By finding your ancestor's name in an index before requesting a copy of a birth, marriage or death certificate, you’ll get faster service, as well as ensure that the record you are requesting is for the right person.

Before beginning research on family history anywhere in Europe, it’s often important to first identify the specific place where your ancestors lived. While many Irish records have been lost over the years, a tax survey conducted across Ireland between 1848 and 1864 survives. This can now be used to help locate your ancestors’ exact parish of residence. Armed with that information, you can then pursue other Irish records for information on your family.

Join me next week for two courses: "Using UK Civil Registrations" and "Tracing Irish Ancestors in Griffith's Valuation." You'll learn where to find the best free online indexes to these resources, tips for searching them effectively and how to use them as springboards to assist with future record finding.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012 10:07:14 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]