Augusta Genealogical Society
Augusta, Georgia
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Virtual Genealogical Program
“Finding Dan and Jane: A Case Study in African American Genealogy”

When:      Saturday, February 25, 2023
Time:       11:00 - 12:00 pm EST
Where:    Online - Register at Augusta Genealogical Society 

The Registration deadline is Feb 24.  Registration is required to receive the Zoom link

Price:       FREE  to AGS members or $10 for nonmembers

Limited seating will be offered at Adamson Library to view the virtual presentation. To reserve a seat, please call (706) 722-4073.

Speaker:  Tamika Strong

Subject:  Oral history and family stories are the beginning point for many genealogists. Using a case study, genealogist Tamika Strong will share research methodology and tips on how to connect the dots between the generations using oral history.

Tamika Strong graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies. She received a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Archival Studies from Clayton State University. 

Mrs. Strong spent 15 years serving as a librarian in the DeKalb County Public Library System and the Georgia Public Library Service. Since becoming an archivist more than five years ago, she assists researchers by connecting them to the vast resources available at the Georgia Archives.

Mrs. Strong discovered her passion for genealogy after planning a successful series of family history workshops at a library where she worked. Since then, she has presented workshops at various institutions, including Emory University, the DeKalb History Center, and the Digital Library of Georgia. She leads a genealogy discussion group and is active in several genealogy organizations. She serves as the Technology Director of the Georgia Genealogical Society and is on the Board of the Georgia Archives Institute. A thrill-of-the-hunt type of researcher, Tamika enjoys assisting others in discovering their ancestors while trying to find her own.

Attached here is the program flyer.

JOIN AGS NOW and enjoy the benefits of several programs, which will be free to members in 2023 - 2024.

I have used this new service briefly and found it to be a great service. This is a great method of accessing genealogy information (mostly in the U.S.) without purchasing 800 books. There is a fee for using the new service but it is much, much cheaper than purchasing the books individually.

Here is the announcement from the Genealogical Publishing Company: https://genealogical.com/subscriptions/.

Here is a list of all of this week's articles, all of them available here at https://eogn.com:

(+) Does It Still Make Sense to Buy CDs?

Don't Store Books or Documents in Sealed Plastic!

The World’s Largest Family Tree?

Finding Your People: Exploring the Past, Present, and Future of Documenting Black Families in Special Collections and Archives

The Alliance Heritage Center to Preserve Jewish Farming History Receives Grant

Target Dossiers Pertaining to the British Isles, 1938-1945 Now Fully Digitized

German Genealogy 2023 International Conference

New Talks for this month's The Family History Show Online

Three Alexander the Great Manuscripts Newly Digitised

Fun Game Makes You Guess What Year a Photo Was Taken

Findmypast Adds Northumberland Records

This Smart New Search Site Is Like a Mashup of Google and ChatGPT

‘De-Extinction’ Company Will Try to Bring Back the Dodo

Queen Camilla Replies to Collector Who Found Her Ancestor's Photo

The History of Groundhog Day

Skiff - Private, Decentralized, Encrypted Emails, Notes, and Drive

Microsoft 365 Integration Is Coming to Chromebooks

How many people do you have documented in your family tree? 1,000 people? 10,000? 100,000? No, those are not record numbers.

Since the advent of online family trees and readily available DNA analysis became available, scientists have created far larger family trees. Would you believe one family tree of 27 million ancestors?

OK, so it's not quite the same as your family tree or mine. For one thing, they don't know the name of every single person in the family tree. They also don't know the exact dates of birth or death of each individual. However, they do know a lot about these people. Dr. Anthony Wilder Wohns, lead author of the published study, explained further.

“Essentially, we are reconstructing the genomes of our ancestors and using them to form a vast network of relationships. We can then estimate when and where these ancestors lived.”

Every single human eventually listed in this family tree can trace his or her ancestry back to a spot of desert in the northeast of Sudan. It’s not far from the Nile river, and recent research from the Big Data Institute suggests it might be the homeland of every single person alive today.

They had to use data from eight different human genome databases to create their network of around 27 million ancestors, and used samples not just from modern humans, but our ancient relatives as well. The study models as exactly as we can the history that generated all the genetic variation we find in humans today.

They organizers claim that as data continues to become available they will add and improve the map. Evolutionary geneticist Dr. Yan Wong says, "As the quality of genome sequences from modern and ancient DNA samples improves, the trees will become even more accurate and we will eventually be able to generate a single, unified map that explains the descent of all the human genetic variation we see today.”

You can read more in an article in the TwistedSifter web site at: https://twistedsifter.com/2023/02/what-can-we-learn-from-the-worlds-largest-family-tree-take-a-look/

The study has been published in the Science.org web site at: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abi8264 with a title of: Genomics and human ancestral genealogy.

The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.

Compact discs and DVDs have going the way of the dodo, and online streaming media will keep that trend going throughout 2023, 2024, and probably for many more years.

Several articles have appeared online in the past few years describing the slowly dying music CD business. In short, sales of CD disks are being replaced by directly downloading music online to iPods, computers, and other music playback devices. 

Remember the record and CD stores that used to be available at your local mall? Where have they all gone? What happened to the music store that sold CDs? How about the Blockbuster DVD rental store that used to be in your neighborhood? Where did it go? The reality is that Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, Apple TV, and other online video services made the DVD rental stores obsolete. The same is true of music CDs: it is easier, much faster, and usually cheaper to download the music online that it is to go to a “brick-and-mortar” store to purchase the same things on plastic disks. 

We are now seeing the same thing with the companies that sell genealogy-related CD-ROM disks. Music CDs are already plummeting, video DVD sales are plummeting, and I believe the same is happening to data CDs.

For more than two decades, genealogists have been enthusiastic buyers of genealogy data CDs. At least, looking in my storage area in the basement confirms that I have been an enthusiastic buyer! I have several hundred genealogy data CDs stored in a large box, most of which haven't been touched in years. 

I assume that most other genealogists have also been purchasing CDs. I know the CD-ROM disks from Ancestry.com, (formerly Broderbund, with CDs designed to be read by earlier versions of Family Tree Maker), FamilySearch, HeritageQuest, Genealogical Publishing Company, Heritage Books, Family Chronicle, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Progeny Software, S&N Genealogy Supplies in England, Archive CD Books (from several countries), and dozens of other companies and societies have sold thousands of copies. In addition, I see dozens of independent genealogy CD-ROM disks offered for sale on eBay; most are apparently produced by one-person businesses. Prices vary widely, but $10 to $50 US seems to be the price range for most genealogy CDs with a few others at higher or lower prices. 

There is but one problem: Of the multiple computers that I own, I don’t have a single one that has a built-in CD or DVD-ROM player!  (I do have one ancient computer with a built-in CD player that I keep “just in case I need it.” There’s one problem with that: it is stored in a closet, underneath other devices that I no longer use. It hasn’t been powered on for 3 or 4 years and I don’t even know if it still works. I haven’t had a need for it in at least 3 or 4 years, maybe longer.)

Shouldn't we be accessing genealogy information online instead of on CD-ROM disks? 

Why would we ever want to change to online distribution? I see several reasons, some of which are already major factors:

The remainder of this article is reserved for Plus Edition subscribers only. If you have a Plus Edition subscription, you may read the full article at: https://eogn.com/(*)-Plus-Edition-News-Articles/13084095

If you are not yet a Plus Edition subscriber, you can learn more about such subscriptions and even upgrade to a Plus Edition subscription immediately at https://eogn.com/page-18077.

A newsletter reader sent me a link to an online article that made me shudder when I read it. The article claims:

“Do you have an old book or important document that has been passed down from generation to generation? These books and documents break down over time due to oxygen, moisture, and other hazards. By sealing it, you’re also giving it added protection in the event of a flood, fire (smoke), or accidental damage.”

I am no expert in preservation, but I believe the last thing you want to do to a valuable old book or photo or other document is to seal it in an airtight plastic bag, especially a bag that is not labeled "archival quality." Sealing in a cheap plastic bag can cause more damage than it prevents!

Paper, photographs, film, and tape are all made from materials that change over time. When these materials change, they will leach chemicals or give off gases that will loop back and inflict self damage if they are “sealed in their own juices.” Your books, photographs, and documents will last much longer if they are exposed to the air, where the chemicals and gases can dissipate. Storage temperatures between 60 and 75 degrees and humidity levels between 50 and 60 percent are ideal.

Archival plastic enclosures can be made from polyester, polypropylene, or polyethylene. Don't use any plastic that is not one of these three, and don't use anything that is not labeled "archival quality." Also, never seal it.

You can read advice written by Sherelyn Ogden, Head of Conservation for the Minnesota Historical Society, at Storage Enclosures for Books and Artifacts on Paper at https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/4.-storage-and-handling/4.4-storage-enclosures-for-books-and-artifacts-on-paper.

The following announcement was written by the organizers of The Family History Show Online:

The Family History Show Online is just two weeks away on Saturday 18th February 2023 and the subjects of the expert talks have been announced for this year’s virtual event.

Featuring All New Talks for the show!

The Restless Spy: the Secret Life of Ernest Oldham

Nick Barratt - Historian, Author and Professional Genealogist

Exploring how to research and write your family history to publication standard using a real case study.

Walking in the footsteps of our ancestors

Keith Gregson - Professional Researcher & Social Historian

This talk explores how with research and the right tools you can step back in time looking at where your ancestors lived, worked and spent their leisure time. Follow the routes they may have taken on old maps and look at the views they may have seen.

The Techniques of Building a DNA Research Tree

Donna Rutherford - DNA Expert

Learn how to build out your tree for doing DNA research, with a look at different methods and ideas.

Understanding and Dating Photographs

Stephen Gill - Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society

Learn how to investigate and date your old photographs.

Professionally presented and recorded, these lectures are not just streamed screen shares, and each talk will be available for 72 hours, so don't worry if you're in another time zone. These presentations will cover a wide variety of family history topics from multiple speakers and will be available throughout the day.

The Family History Show Online, organised by Discover Your Ancestors magazine, is a great opportunity for you to put your research questions to an expert, watch free talks and to speak to family history societies, archives and genealogical suppliers by text, audio, video chat or email from the comfort of your own home.

Make a date in your diary and snap up an early bird ticket now for only £7! You'll also get a downloadable goody bag worth over £10.

Save the date in your diary and snap up an early bird ticket now for only £7! You'll also get a downloadable goody bag worth over £10.

Societies, Archives and Companies

Visit exhibitors, societies, archives and companies in our virtual exhibition hall. Here there will be the opportunity to talk to some of the stallholders by text, audio or video from the comfort of your own home.

Show Partners

SoG, AGRA, TheGenealogist, GenFair, S&N Genealogy Supplies

Early Bird Ticket Offer

Buy your tickets in advance and save - tickets to attend The Family History Show Online are available from the website at just £7.00 each. You will also get a FREE virtual goody bag on the day worth over £10. https://thefamilyhistoryshow.com/online/tickets/

The following announcement was written by Findmypast:

The International German Genealogy Partnership 2023 conference is one of the few occasions in which you will hear from and connect with people focused on German genealogy, and only German genealogy. Attendees will enjoy a weekend of programs and activities that highlight the diversity of the German-speaking genealogy community.

This amazing conference will offer more than 100 presentations and more than 25 Connection sessions — the most presentations we have ever offered and the largest number of German genealogy presentations at a genealogical conference in the U.S. 

The conference will be held in-person in Fort Wayne, Indiana, June 9-11. But there is also a robust virtual option, with access to programming in real-time. And a USB drive is available for purchase, allowing all attendees to watch the recorded presentations

Go to iggp.org to learn more and to register.

Look for presentations from speakers in Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Australia, Brazil, Serbia, and Germany. They do not usually present in the U.S. But you can hear from them at the IGGP conference! And, of course, U.S. experts in the field of German genealogy will speak as well.

Here are a few examples of those who will be in-person at the conference:

· Dr. Thomas Aigner from Austria, the man behind the website Matricula

· Viktor Pordzik, archivist at the Bremen State Archives and vice-chair of Die MAUS, the Bremen genealogical society

· Andrea Bentschneider, professional genealogist from Hamburg, with presentations on Mecklenburg and how to research in German archives

· Dr. Michael Lacopo with a brand new presentation about WWII SS records

·  Antje Petty of the Max Kade Institute on hidden resources in German language newspapers

· Katie Schober will lead "Learn to Read Vital Records: A Workshop Experience" — a first for the IGGP conference  

IGGP also will be delivering on two key aspects of its mission statement:

· We'll give attendees the opportunity to CONNECT with others who share their interests. Our Connection sessions bring you together for informal meetings on a variety of topics. A sneak peek at a partial list includes research in historically German-speaking areas of Europe, finding records that aren't online, favorite research databases, using maps in German research, and working with professional genealogists in Germany. Our conference app, Whova, also allows you to post messages and organize your own meetups with others.

· We'll SHARE German genealogical knowledge by sponsoring Librarians Day on Thursday, June 8. If you are a librarian or archivist who needs to answer questions about German genealogy research, our speakers will share their expertise with you.

This is a weekend not to be missed by anyone doing German genealogy research anywhere in the world. The early registration period ends March 3, 2023. Register now and save money. Go to iggp.org to register and to see more presentation titles, Connection topics and additional conference details. Questions may be sent to info@iggp.org.