VGS Genealogy News & Events
Victoria Genealogical Society
No. 165 - September 18, 2024 |
Distributed free of charge to interested subscribers and former members. |
Featured Upcoming Events:
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Workshop: INTRODUCTION TO ROOTSMAGIC
Presenter: Gerry Poulton
Date: Saturday September 21, 2024
Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 noon
Note: video recordings of this event will be available online for 30 days to registered attendees only
Event description: RootsMagic is one of the popular family tree software tools that can help both beginners and experienced professionals research, organize, and share their family history.
| | | Gerry will explore the basics of this RootsMagic genealogy program for keeping track of your family history. RootsMagic 9 was released within the past year and he will cover updates and new features that this version offers. If time permits, he will also address RootsMagic 10, which has just come out.
Whether you already have RootMagic, or you want to learn more about it first, this informative workshop will be of help. RootsMagic is inexpensive and is available for Windows and MacOS systems, with a free trial option.
About Gerry (Gerald) Poulton:
I began genealogical searching in the days of microfilms, microfiche and paper records when little was on line or indexed. As information became more and more readily available, I have become more familiar with searching and have been actively involved in research for more than thirty years.
I am a member of several genealogical societies and volunteer at the Victoria Genealogical Society’s Learning and Research Centre every week. I have also been making presentations and workshops on a variety of topics for more than fifteen years. My heritage is England (Devon, London), Ireland, Germany and Ontario, so those are the areas with which I am most familiar. And, no, my tree is not complete!
I was born and raised in Saskatchewan, and in a previous life taught Chemistry at the University of Victoria for nearly 40 years. | |
Workshop: EXCEL FOR GENETIC GENEALOGISTS
Presenter: Mark Thompson
Date: Saturday, September 28, 2024
Note: Video recordings of this event will be available online for 30 days to registered attendees only
For more information or registration visit REGISTER HERE
Event description: Sometimes the problem is too big, too complicated, or has too many moving parts to be handled in any other tool. If only Excel could speak genealogy a bit better!
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This engaging workshop will highlight genetic genealogy challenges that are well suited to Excel and some of the most useful and efficient approaches for handling them. Key strategies will be highlighted for dealing with the curve balls that frustrate genealogists every day in their use of Excel.
Real world genetic genealogy challenges will be discussed, as will as a variety of approaches for dealing with them in Excel. You will be able to immediately apply what you learn in this session to improve how you track and manage your genetic genealogy information.
At the end of this engaging session, you will be given a free Excel template to quickly get you on the right track with some of the most common uses of Excel in genetic genealogy.
Mark Thompson is a professional genealogist and educator who specializes in genetic genealogy and researching personal family archives. He combines genetic and traditional genealogical research to help his clients shed light on their family histories and mysteries. Mark is the President of the Victoria Genealogical Society (VGS) in Victoria, BC and is the chair of their DNA Special Interest Group.
For more information about Mark:
Email: Mark@MakingFamilyHistory.com
Newsletter: www.makingfamilyhistory.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-thompson-04990/
The Family History AI Show : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-family-history-ai-show/id1749873836
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New Special Interest Group (SIG) announced:
The Netherlands through the ages has been known by different names such as the Low Countries, The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, United Kingdom of the Netherlands. As the names varied, so did the borders. The SIG will focus on the Netherlands and Flanders (now part of Belgium) and also The New Netherlands (now New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, and Delaware). The Netherlands SIG welcomes all members who are researching their family history in these locations. Our thanks to VGS member Frans Compeer who will be the coordinator for this new SIG.
Along with the Netherlands/Belgium/New Netherland SIG we also offer discussion groups on the following topics:
Family History 101
CSI (Crowd Sourced Intelligence)
DNA
Eastern Europe
England
Ireland
Ontario
Scotland
SIG schedules for the coming year are listed on the Events Calendar.
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The Joys of Joining a Special Interest Discussion Group
I facilitate two Special Interest Groups. One is Family History 101 and the other is Eastern Europe.
Family History 101 started as a group to help people get started on their genealogy. All were welcome, the newbies, people who had “lost their way” and the curious. This started out as a weekly meeting, but soon morphed into a monthly SIG. We have a steady group and have drop-ins. We always welcome members with new problems or as I like to call them, new adventures.
Eastern Europe started up again last September. With the war in Ukraine, people have begun to re-think their ancestry. DNA has given us all a wider scope for our searches. This group tries to dig deeper into their heritage. There are lots of problems with languages, shifting borders, wars, finding documents.
Both groups are very interactive, helping each other. We all bring something different to share with others. We always look forward to meeting new people. Any VGS members that would like to join us are welcome to attend.
Learn more about all special interest discussion groups at SIG
- Sarah Hamster, SIG Leader | VGS Social Media Accounts Update
See what's happening in the VGS neighbourhood. Join the discussion with just a click. Register for events with just a click. And so much more....with just a click.
Don't forget to "like" our events posts and "share" them with friends.
VGS FaceBook private group with over 400 members to help you with your genealogy related questions; join the discussion at VGS Facebook Group
VGS FaceBook public page: click Follow (currently 548 followers) for event notices and other VGS news at: vicgs
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Free accounts with these social media sites may be required.
| New to Genealogy Research?
3 Steps for Beginners
The VGS offers several benefits of membership for those new to genealogy research and for those who would like to brush up on their skills. Check these 3 easy steps below:
Step 1 - The Centre. If you haven't already visited our Genealogy Learning & Research Centre, we recommend you do. It's a great place to start and our friendly and experienced volunteers are available to help you with your questions and show you the basic research tools, techniques and resources. For a modest fee volunteers can provide various personal research services which can be viewed at RESEARCH SERVICES. The Centre is located in Royal Oak Shopping Centre and is free for members. Non-members are welcome and their first visit is free with a nominal fee of $5 for subsequent visits. Free parking, free wifi, free computers, a large library collection, and access to Ancestry library edition. Check our LOCATION page for open hours.
Step 2 - Family History 101 and CSI SIGs are a great place to start. After becoming oriented to genealogy research at the Centre, members often find it a smooth transition to join a discussion group that focuses on their area of research. We call these Special Interest Groups or SIGs for short. Currently there are 9 SIGs that meet regularly either by zoom, in person or in combination. One SIG is designed for those who are new to genealogy. It's called Family History 101, which was introduced last season and proved to be very popular. Our CSI SIG (Crowd Sourced Information) is a chance to do research with others, hands on. Once you get basics in the Family History 101 and CSI SIGs you may want to start signing up for one or more of the other SIGs. They are all free to members. Click on SIGs to learn more about them.
Step 3 - Workshops, Seminars and Speaker Events. Another benefit of membership is the price breaks for our regular workshops and seminars, and access to our monthly Speaker presentations. These events not only offer the opportunity to learn about a topic, but they also provide members the opportunity to meet other members who may be researching in the same geographic area or the same surname. These are important networking opportunities and often prove useful in breaking down research brick walls. To learn more, go to our Events Calendar
We believe that by following these 3 steps you will have the opportunity to learn about the genealogy research tools and techniques more quickly than by reading or surfing the web. For membership details, please go to Membership Options | |
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