Genealogy Research Tip: In my genealogy classes I teach that one of the cornerstones for laying a good foundation in any family history research is the birth event. It is one of the most important life events that we should research in documenting anyone's life. For instance, what makes you unique is that you are born on a definitive month, day, and year; at a specific geographic location; given a birth name by your parents; and are the child of a set of specific biological parents. Do you know anyone else in the world that has your date of birth and birth location and the same full name ..read more

  TCCC Peachtree Spring 2023 Genealogy Classes Here is a list of the Spring Community Enrichment genealogy classes scheduled to be taught at Tri-County Community College in Peachtree, NC for 2023. To reserve your seat in class or sign-up call Lisa Long at 828-835-4241. Sorry, no remote learning for these classes is available, in-class learning only. Genealogy – Searching for Your Ancestors: Who am I and where did I come from? It is that intriguing question that has made genealogy research one of America's most popular hobbies. This popular class offers beginner and experienced genealogis ..read more

 In case you didn't see this, from Dick Eastman's newsletter: Only 1 More Year to the Release of the 1950 U.S. Census The 1950 Census of the United States will be released for public inspection on Friday, April 1, 2022. Mark that date on your calendar. The method of the release has not yet been announced. Will all the records be released online at once on April 1st? Or will the records be released over a period of several days or weeks? I don't believe that has been announced yet but I bet there are committee meetings going on now that are formulating those plans! Link to the entire arti ..read more

Here is something you might have missed. From Dick Eastman's newsletter and for Chrome users. The prolific Randy Majors has released still another software tool that will aid genealogists as they research online. Here is his announcement: U.S. county boundaries have changed over 17,600 times since America was settled in colonial times. Don’t sabotage your search for ancestors by not knowing the correct county for the historical years you are researching. While searching on Ancestry or FamilySearch, the free Historical U.S. Counties Auto-Checker extension for Goo ..read more

Article below courtesy of Dick Eastman. The 1950 Federal Census will be released on April 1, 2022 (72 year rule). We are a little under 2 years now from its release. Joel Weintraub has announced a major new addition that he created for Stephen Morse’s One-Step Webpages site: the 1950 Census Project includes 230,000 plus 1950 Enumeration Districts’ definitions transcribed and searchable, an additional 79,000 small urban/rural names added to the definitions, and over 2,400 city street indexes for most cities over 5,000 in population. The work was performed by was done with St ..read more

Article courtesy of the Dick Eastman newletter. The following was written by Jan Meisels Allen, Chairperson of the IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee: On June 18, 2020, the Georgia House of Representatives passed SB 372 by a vote of 157 to 2. In March, the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 52-0. Despite letters from the genealogical community to House Committee and leadership the Georgia Legislature seemed unwavering in their determination to enact a provision in their public health and modernization bill with the NAPHSIS advocated embargo periods. The bill changes the birth re ..read more

Article courtesy of Dick Eastman at https://blog.eogn.com/2020/06/30/genetic-genealogy-used-to-crack-golden-state-killer-case-opened-door-for-more-than-150-cold-cases/ Here is a brief quote from a new article by Julie Watts and published on Sacramento’s CBS13 web site: “It’s estimated that more than 150 violent cold case suspects have been identified using genetic genealogy since the arrest of the Golden State Killer. “The technology wasn’t new, but the Sacramento case opened the door for genealogy crime-fighting nationwide.” The article then goes on to provide various de ..read more

I can't resist posting this. Those of you who have taken my classes in the past know how I feel about these claims. Don't take my word for it. Here is the word from some scholars who have examined the various claimed trees. Thanks to Dick Eastman and his column at https://blog.eogn.com/2020/07/01/i-have-my-family-tree-back-to-adam-and-eve/ Dick Eastman · July 1, 2020 · Genealogy Basics · 15 Comments This is another bit of fiction that needs to be wiped out. I have often heard people (I won’t call them “genealogists”) at various times make the claim they have ..read more

Another interesting article from Dick Eastman. I teach these myths usually the first and second nights of my beginner genealogy classes. How many have you been suckered into? Some of us always get caught in a myth or two as we start our family history journeys. Family stories are a wonderful thing. They often give you insights into the lives of your ancestors. However, beware! Not all family stories are true. Many such stories are fictional. Yet, even the stories that are either entirely or part fiction may contain clues to facts. Good genealogical practice requires that we admit the fiction ..read more

This is very interesting news if you are a member or want to be a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). At this point, I do not have any more specifics to share other than what Katherine Borges (an ISOGG Admin) posted to the ISOGG FB newsgroup. If this is true, So they will now allow the trifecta of DNA testing (YDNA, Autosomal DNA (atDNA), and Mitochondrial (mtDNA) to be part of the DAR application process. Sorry, I don't have any additional details but I will be looking into this. it looks like I may be a bit busy wearing my genetic genealogy hat in the coming months. Th ..read more