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Victoria Genealogical Society
Date: 5/26/2026
Subject: Understanding Ancestry . com workshop this Saturday May 30
From: Victoria Genealogical Society



VGS Genealogy News & Events
Victoria Genealogical Society
No. 203 - May 26, 2026

 
Distributed free of charge to interested subscribers and former members.

In this newsletter:

- New membership year begins June 1
- Upcoming VGS Workshops, Seminars and Heritage History Hour Events
- New to genealogy research? 3 Steps for beginners
- VGS Social Media channels

Scroll down to read these articles.
 
VGS is a non-profit and you can help us by forwarding this newsletter to your friends

VGS New Membership Year Starting June 1

 
The Ancestry 201 Workshop this coming Saturday, May 30th, is the final workshop of our 2025/26 program season and what a great year it's been.  Membership continues to grow, supported by record attendance across our workshops, seminars, and Heritage History Hours — a true testament to the strength and enthusiasm of our community.
 
Our new membership year begins June 1 and we encourage you to join now to keep informed of our new upcoming program year.  Our volunteers will be busy over the summer break recruiting another slate of world class presenters and topics for our 2026/27 year which will kick-off later this Fall. We hope you'll join us for another wonderful year of genealogy fun!

New members: please visit our Membership Options page.
Expired members: please visit our Membership Renewal page.

Upcoming Workshops, Seminars, Heritage History Hours, and other VGS events

Upcoming VGS workshops, seminars and more are listed below and also available online at  VGS Calendar of Events

Date: Saturday, May 30, 2026

WORKSHOP -
Understanding Ancestry.com 201 with Gerry Poulton

 
 
ATTENDANCE IS EITHER VIA ZOOM OR IN PERSON - SELECT DURING REGISTRATION.

Want to use Ancestry.com but don’t know where to start? That’s not surprising because there is a lot to learn about the world’s largest online genealogy research repository, with over 19 billion records.
 
In this workshop, Gerry will take an in-depth look at Ancestry:

- What is on the home page? What do each of the tabs do?
- What are the different methods when searching for data?
- How to save/print results which we’ve found?
- How to add new found data to our tree?
- How to add photos/media to our tree?
- How to download our tree data?
- Can we upload to our tree?
We will also discuss what Pro-Tools offer and whether it’s worth it.

Bring along your questions and, time permitting, we will try to find some answers for you.

About Gerry:
Gerald (Gerry) Poulton began genealogical searching in the days of microfilms, microfiche and paper records when little was online or indexed. As information became more and more readily available, he has become more familiar with searching and has been actively involved in research for more than thirty years. He is a member of several genealogical societies and volunteers at the Victoria Genealogical Society’s Learning and Research Centre every week. He has also been making presentations and workshops on a variety of topics for more than fifteen years.

Gerry’s 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! He was born and raised in Saskatchewan, and in a previous life taught Chemistry at the University of Victoria for nearly 40 years.
 
Date: Saturday, May 30, 2026
Time: 10:00 am - 12:00 (noon) PST

Location: This is a hybrid workshop. You may attend by Zoom or at the VGS Genealogy Learning & Research Centre 209 - 4475 Viewmont Avenue, Victoria, BC V8Z 6L8 CAN

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

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. *** New: we have updated our online library catalogue which can be searched HERE.  

Step 2 - Family History 101 Seminar and SIG are a great place to start.  After becoming oriented to genealogy research at the Centre, members may find themselves prepared to register for our annual Family History 101 half day Seminar.  Members may also enjoy further supports by joining 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.  The Family History 101 SIG is designed for those who are new to genealogy.  Once you get basics in the Family History 101 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 Heritage History Hour.  Another benefit of membership is the price breaks for our regular workshops and seminars, and access to our monthly Heritage History Hour 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.

Never mind surfing the web - follow these 3 steps to learn genealogy research tools and techniques. For membership details, please go to Membership Options.


VGS social media channels

VGS FaceBook private group with over 470 members to help you with your genealogy related questions; join the discussion at VGS Facebook Group.


VGS FaceBook public page: click Follow (over 500 followers) for event notices and other VGS news at: vicgs.

VGS Bluesky Social - find us at https://bsky.app/profile/victoriags.org (over 300 followers) for event notices and more

VGS Instagram: click Follow (over 200 followers) for event notices with a twist at:  https://www.instagram.com/victoriagenealogicalsociety/ 

Try clicking on our social media icons at the bottom of this newsletter.

Free accounts with these social media sites may be required.

 

PLEASE SHARE: You can help our non-profit by forwarding this newsletter to other like-minded people. Feel free to print and circulate copies of this newsletter.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: To subscribe for this newsletter visit VGS Website or scan the adjacent QR code, and click on the Free Newsletter Signup tab at top left hand corner. 
 

Home Page: Victoria Genealogical Society
Visit our VGS Website often to get updated information about us and our upcoming events.

Merv Scott
VGS Correspondent
Contact Us.

Copyright © 2024 Victoria Genealogical Society, All rights reserved.

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Distributed by free subscription to non-members and VGS past members