Attention Genealogists: You Might be Missing Out

Image from FreeImages.com; Photo by Emin Ozkan

If you haven't heard of genealogy webinars, you are missing out! Getting to go to genealogy workshops, conferences, and lectures are fun and certainly educational, but they can also be expensive and require you to travel long distances. However, online webinars are the next best thing and many are free.

What is a webinar, you ask? It is an online meeting. Imagine listening to a live genealogy lecture without ever having to leave the house. Participants can view PowerPoint slides, download handouts, and even ask questions. A typical webinar lasts about 45 minutes to an hour with some time left over for questions. With a variety of topics, you will soon turn into a webinar junkie.

You don't need special computer software to participate. Webinars are browser based. All you need is a good internet connection and an internet browser such as Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Google Chrome.

Most webinars require pre-registration. You will register using your email address. Then, you will receive an email with instructions for logging into the webinar on the day of the event. It is really easy and the instructions are clear and straight forward.

When participating in a webinar, it's a good idea to log on early as some of the webinars are first come, first serve. If you log in late, you may not be able to "attend." However, if you do miss the webinar, many societies offer a recorded version to their members. If you are not a member of their society, you will sometimes pay a small fee to download the past webinar or have limited access.

I started attending webinars regularly over the past year. I love the freedom of going to genealogy lectures without having to actually "go" anywhere!

Some of my favorite places to go for webinars are:

• New England Historic Genealogical Society
• Legacy Family Tree Webinars
• Georgia Genealogical Society
• Board for Certification of Genealogists
• Wisconsin Genealogical Society
• Illinois Genealogical Society
• FamilySearch

This is just a small list of what's available. Genealogy webinars are becoming more and more popular, so don't miss out! Check your local state genealogical society for webinar opportunities and take advantage of this new tool for your genealogy and family history education.

If you have some go-to webinar sites for genealogy that you enjoy, I would love to hear about them!

Find out if you have these top three genealogy books in your library. Click here.

Multiple Family Trees Online...It's a GOOD THING!

A few weeks ago in a Facebook group I follow, a very upset woman shared her feelings about having lost access to her online family tree. Even though she had taken some small precautions to protect her data, it got me thinking.

I have a family tree on no less than five websites: FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA, and Findmypast. This does not include the family tree I keep on my personal computer using genealogy software. I feel like my family tree has turned into an orchard of trees! How on earth do I keep them all maintained? Read the rest of this article at RootsBid.com here.

DNA May Have Revealed the Family Secret

I was born and raised a blonde, blue-eyed, "White" child. I look like my  mother, also blonde and blue eyed. So you can imagine the surprise while researching her family, I found that her great grandfather, his siblings, and parents were recorded as "Black" in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census. Surely, there was some mistake. Wasn't there?

Read the full article here at RootsBid.com/blog and learn how DNA may have finally revealed the family secret.

SeekingMichigan.org Leads the Way in Michigan Records

Can you imagine how exciting it must have been to your ancestors to first hear about Henry Ford's "Tin Lizzy?" If your genealogy research is in the state of Michigan, you might feel as excited as they did that day. I just found a website full of genealogical records for the state of Michigan and it's free!

SeekingMichigan.org is a website dedicated to helping you with your Michigan family history. You will be amazed at the digital images of records they have there. Learn more about SeekingMichgian in the article at the RootsBid.com blog here.