This is the 5th edition of our monthly newsletter- The Dispatch! We are thrilled with the response to our newsletter. It has been a great way to keep our members up to date on what we are doing at MLGC but also genealogical events locally, nationally and even worldwide!
The Club meets the 2nd Thursday of the month, September through June, from 1 to 3 pm and welcomes all who are interested in learning more about their ancestors, both newcomers and those who are more experienced. Our purpose is to present programs that will help both new and experienced students to research their own family genealogies and to learn new techniques for improving their knowledge of their ancestors and their family histories.
Our March Meeting features a lecture by Diahan Southard, a leading expert in the field of DNA and Genetic Genealogy. You won't want to miss it! See full details below!
March is Women's History Month, so take the advice from Abigail Adams to "Remember the Ladies" and take some time to research a female line of your family tree and tell her story. March also brings
St. Patrick's Day, when everyone is a little bit Irish, see MLGC Planning Committee member, Joe Hunter's tips below to dig into your Irish research! Please share a photo, story or a great find on a female or Irish ancestor with us on our Facebook Group or tag us on Twitter or Instagram, all links below.
Are you attending Rootstech, March 3-5, "The World's Largest Family History Conference"? It is completely free and virtual. Let's attend together by sharing insights and favorite experiences on our Facebook Group! (link below) We'll "see" you then!
Check out the list of our upcoming lectures and the BCGS calendar for the many genealogy events in our area. You'll also see members of the planning committee providing a tip or highlighting a genealogical resource in their area of expertise. This month you will find suggestions by Paul Campbell-Trimbur, Laverna Saunders, and Joe Hunter. Visit our website mainlinegenealogy.org for a wealth of information and follow us on social media! Links below!
The Planning Committee recently announced that the MLGC will be moving to a new location at the Tredyffrin Public Library in Strafford, Pennsylvania. The Tredyffrin Public Library has a large meeting room and we are hoping to start hybrid meetings sometime in the spring, (but for now meetings are still completely virtual). A hybrid meeting will allow some members to meet in person and some to meet virtually all at the same meeting. Whether the speaker is in person at the library or presenting via Zoom all members will be able to watch the presentation in real time. The Planning Committee is looking forward to finding more ways to benefit our membership and the greater genealogy community.
We ask you to make a $5.00 contribution at each meeting to help defray our expenses. Use the link to "Cheddar Up" in the meeting details to donate. Zoom link information for each meeting is sent to all those on our email list. See Zoom instructions here.
Please note: This month’s meeting will begin promptly at 1:00 pm EST with our speaker’s presentation, followed by a brief Q&A session. General and calendar announcements will be made following the presentation/Q&A session. So, please don’t be late! In the interest of a timely start to the presentation we will NOT offer our Virtual Help Desk this month.
We hope to see you at our next meeting on Thursday, March 10th. The MLGC Planning Committee
Next up in March:
Connecting Your DNA Matches
While it is possible for you to analyze your DNA matches one at a time to determine how you are related, there is much that can be accomplished by first identifying the connections between those on your match list, organizing those matches, and then working together to determine how you are related to each other. Learn the tips and tricks to this powerful method of match analysis.
Diahan Southard is a leading voice for consumer DNA testing from her position as Founder of Your DNA Guide. Diahan teaches internationally, consults with leading testing companies and forensics experts. Southard's company, Your DNA Guide, YourDNAGuide.com, deploys a team of scientists who provide one-on-one genetic genealogy education and research services. You will walk away from an interaction with her, enlightened and motivated as she has a passion for genetic genealogy, a genuine love for people, and a gift for making the technical understandable.
This is a Zoom Meeting. Watch for meeting login details to arrive in your inbox soon. $5. contribution suggested. Please use this link to donate throughCheddar Up.
Please note: This month’s meeting will begin promptly at 1:00 pm EST Diahan's presentation, followed by a brief Q&A session. General and calendar announcements will be made following the presentation/Q&A session. So, please don’t be late! In the interest of a timely start to the presentation we will NOT offer our Virtual Help Desk this month.
Upcoming MLGC Meetings All meetings are on the 2nd Thursday of the month
September through June, 1:00-3:00
Help Desk open 12:30- 12:55
Mar 10 2022: Diahan Southard, Connecting Your DNA Matches Your DNA Guide
Apr 14 2022: Mary Craudereuff, Researching Quaker Records: Uncovering Your Roots in the Religious Society of Friends Mary Craudereuff
May 12 2022: Pamela Boyer Sayre, CG, Our National Treasure: The Library of Congress Sayre & Sayre
Did you miss the previous MLGC meetings this season?
We celebrated Black History Month with a presentation by Dean Henry on Feb 10th. Dean's lecture was titled, African American Genealogy Basics Illustrated. Get in touch through his website Family Pearl if you need help with your African American research!
Our very own planning committee member, Sydney Cruice presented Why Should Anyone Believe Your Research – How to provide Genealogical Proof and Write a Genealogy Proof Argument on January 13th. Get in touch withSydney and see her list of upcoming lectures through her website- Sydney Cruice Genealogy. Better yet, take her course, Foundations of Genealogy I, starting in March, details below in "Classes and Conferences" and on her website!
The speaker on Dec 9th was Mary Kircher Roddy, CG, ofMKR Genealogy. Her lecture, Family Browse- A Different Way to Look at Family Search, gave us detailed explanations on how to search the millions of unindexed images on Family Search.
We had Chris Paton in November, who discussedScottish Research Resources before 1800. See his website for more info-Scotland's Greatest Story, and look for his many books!!
October's meeting topic was, Discovering Your Immigrant’s Origins: Exhausting Every Resource by Rich Venezia of Rich Roots Genealogy. Rich discussed ways to pin down your elusive immigrant ancestor’s place of origin using some well known and lesser known record sets, ideas, and techniques.
In September, Steve Morse gave us a tour of his website One-Step Webpages, which provides tools for finding immigration records, census records, vital records and much more. Click on "About this website and how to use it", for an overview and start searching more effectively. Get familiar with Steve's website if you are excited about the 1950 U.S. Census being released on April 1st.!!!
2022 Classes and Conferences
March 1-7- Registration opens for seats at the very popular virtual Gen-Fed 2022, August 8-13. See details here: Gen Fed News
March 3-5 - Rootstech will be completely virtual again this year and free!!
March 16-May 4-Foundations of Genealogy I. An 8-week course for beginner and intermediate genealogists, held over Zoom on Wednesdays from 6:30 - 8:30 PM. To register: Sydney Cruice Genealogy
March 20- Ulster Historical Foundation’s online Genealogy Course, for information: Irish Genealogy Essentials.
Ever wondered what consumer DNA testing can do for you- beyond telling you your ethnicity? Are you an adoptee- or someone who has an unknown parent or relative? Do you love Genealogy? You're in the right place. Join Julie Dixon Jackson and Richard Castle as they attempt to guide you through what it takes to use DNA to break down brick walls, solve mysteries- or find your "people"!
This pick is a little more fun/entertaining and chatty than most school book style genealogy podcasts. Julie and Richard know each other from musical theater and live in the Los Angeles area of California. Julie used to be a performer and Richard is a composer and piano player. Julie is an adoptee and that is a big perspective of the show and her using DNA to help adoptees find their biological parent(s). However, if you have some brick walls in your family tree; have you ever thought that they could have been adopted or NPE [Non-Paternity Event (genetic genealogy)]?
The podcast usually starts with the co-hosts talking of current news DNA stories and ends with Julie interviewing someone who walks us through their journey of finding their biological parent(s). Warning: these interviews can sometimes be spread over two or more episodes and therefore have you sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for the next weekly podcast episode. Because of the high entertainment factors and learning from interviewee searching stories; don't hesitate to listen to their archived episodes.
Our new partnership with the Tredyffrin Public Library is already showing results! The following titles were purchased with Main Line Genealogy Club donations and bear our custom bookplate. These books are available in the nonfiction collection and may be checked out for 3-weeks.
Evans, Barbara Jean. From A to Zax: A Comprehensive Dictionary for Genealogists & Historians. Third Edition.Midlothian, VA: Hearthside Press, 1995. Tredyffrin: 929.103E
Lainhart, Ann S. State Census Records. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992. Tredyffrin: 929.373L
Neagles, James C. U. S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present. Provo, UT: Ancestry Publishing, 1994. Tredyffrin: 929.373N
Rose, Christine. Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case.San Jose, CA: CR Publications, 2014. Tredyffrin: 929.1072R
Szucs, Loretto Dennis and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. The Archives: A Guide to the National Archives Field Branches. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Publishing, 1988. Tredyffrin: 929.1072S
St. Patrick’s Day tips for Irish Research:
Use Irish Online Resources and Repositories! New records are appearing online everyday. Complete as much research as possible in the United States and with the use of online records both, here and in Ireland. Utilize free databases before expanding to pay sites. Consult with the experts. There are many free resources available to hone your skills. Always start your research with the Family Search Wiki. Look at the available Ireland records. Then go to the Ireland Online Genealogy Records Page.
The link below is a pot of gold I give to you my friends- a list of Irish Online Resources for you to save or print! Sláinte! Joe's List of Irish Genealogy Resources
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