Bob Kellow

 Bob was on the Genealogy Friends Board for years and was married to Brenda Kellow, our founding president. Please keep Bob and his family in your thoughts and prayers. 

 Robert Strong Kellow

Robert Strong Kellow passed away peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family and his longtime, wonderful caregiver on July 3, 2025 in Richardson, Texas. He was born October 17, 1937 in Jacksonville, FL to James Campbell Kellow & Mattie Jane (Singletary) Kellow.
Bob, always prepared, wrote his own obituary in simplest terms, but we who loved him know his life was too rich to leave it at that. An extraordinary man who made a memorable imprint on those around him, his deep love for family and friends left no doubt how much we meant to him.

Bob worked passionately and genuinely loved what he did. Bob earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1959 from University of Florida. He then moved to Richardson, Texas, joining Collins Radio Co., which became Rockwell International and ultimately Alcatel. In 1993 after 34 service years, Bob retired as Business Manager of Alcatel's Lightwave (Fiber Optic) Dept.

Bob innovated nascent technologies, including emerging military radio programs, satellite telecom and fiber optics. While so engaged, he directed development of several high-power microwave amplifiers. After retiring, Bob consulted for another 20+ years, designing earth stations for Andrews Corp/Andrews Satellite.

An avid ham radio operator, Bob held his license since 1952 as W5LWY and earned his Expert License, W5LT. A longtime member of the Collins Collectors Assoc., Lone Star DX Association, ARRL, and other radio clubs, he also was a member of Beta Theta Pi, Sons of the American Revolution, and Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries.

Bob was predeceased by his lovely wife of 58 years, Brenda Burns Kellow, and survived by their two daughters: Elizabeth Kellow of TX and Renee Quattromani and her husband, Marc, and grandsons, Nicolas and Michael of OR. Also predeceasing him were Jacksonville, FL siblings Betty Jane Kellow Weekley, James Campbell Kellow, Jr., Doris Marie Kellow Barnwell, and Grace Johnston Kellow Goldsmith of Visalia, CA. The Family plans a private ceremony and invites donations to Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries.

For those mourning his loss, may your memories of Bob bring comfort and strength. He is forever in our hearts.

Ancestry's DNA Clustering Tool

 Ancestry has added a clustering tool to Pro Tools which is rolling out to Pro Tools Members. This tool finds connections between your DNA matches. 

Matches that share between 65 and 1300cM of DNA with the tester and share at least 20cM with each other are included. Up to 100 matches that meet this criteria will be displayed at a time. 

Here are links to more information

Ancestry - Science of: Matches By Cluster https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Science-of-Matches-by-Cluster?language=en_US

Ancestry - Matches by Cluster https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Matches-by-Cluster?language=en_US

Dana Leeds Video AncestryDNA's New Clustering Tool Explained https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg2RTuaU5mw

TxSGS Genealogy Essentials: July 14-August 25, 2025

 The Texas State Genealogical Society (TxSGS) is pleased to announce the second session of its online education program, “Genealogy Essentials,” designed specifically for individuals interested in beginning or expanding their family history research skills and dedicated to “Building a Strong Foundation for Family History.”

This is the second time that we will be offering our comprehensive, eight-session curriculum aimed at beginners and those that want to review the basic principles necessary to be successful as a genealogist. The courses will all be released on July 14, 2025, which allows students the opportunity to watch them as time permits.  A homework assignment booklet has been designed which will help participants practice what they have learned in the courses.  Zoom sessions will be held weekly to allow for discussion about their learning and answers to questions.

“In designing ‘Genealogy Essentials,’ we aimed to create an accessible, flexible program that helps participants build a strong foundation in genealogy,” said Emily Richardson, TxSGS president and course coordinator. “From understanding basic research concepts to evaluating sources and organizing family documents, this course empowers learners to discover their heritage with confidence.”

All participants will enjoy access to the course materials—including detailed handouts and Zoom session recordings—through August 25, 2025, allowing ample time for review and reinforcement. No prior experience is required; all you need is a computer with audio.

Here are a few comments from participants in the first session which started in January 2025.

• “Overall, it was great.  The recorded videos plus Zoom was a great combination. I’ve been doing things very ad hoc, and this helped me go back to basics with structure and purpose.”
• “It was interesting to hear how the different experienced researchers went about things. I enjoyed listening to their thought processes on tackling topics or problems etc. Very helpful.”
• “Thank you all for taking the time to offer this program, at a reasonable cost and virtual where one can watch on their own timeframe. I was pleased this course was not purely basic information and researchers on all levels could learn.”

For more information:

• Topic Descriptions and Speakers
• Speaker Biographies
• Pricing and Registration Information
• What to Expect
• Questions: genessentials@txsgs.org

July Genealogy News

 2025 National Archives Genealogy Series

Recordings are available https://www.archives.gov/calendar/genealogy-series/2025 for the presentations:

• Revealing Ties to Espionage in the Office of Strategic Services Records
• From the Territory of Montana to the Republic of Vietnam: Researching Native American Veterans in the National Archives, 1881-1966
• Washington DC, Law and Order: Cops and Robbers, 1861-1991
• Disaster Preparedness and Response for Family Collections
• Research Immigrant Ancestors: Alien Registration (AR-2) Forms

Past Event recordings are also available https://www.archives.gov/calendar/genealogy-series

Thomas MacEntee Amazon Prime Day Special - Free E Books

25 books written by Thomas MacEntee are free to download during Amazon Prime Days July 7 -July 11, 2025.  Link to article https://genealogybargains.com/amazon-prime-day-free-genealogy-ebooks/.

175,000 New Historical Records Released by Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland

The Virtual Treasury of Ireland was launched in 2022 and is working to reconstruct the records lost in the fire in 1922 at the Public Record Office of Ireland. Here is a link to a post on Dick Eastman's blog about the new records and the website https://wwweogncom.wildapricot.org/page-18080/13516932.

Black Pearls of Genealogy

This is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, restoring, and honoring Black family histories. 

https://thebpog.org/home-two/

Newspapers.com Added Page Category Options

Page Categories like politics, disaster, sport, etc. help you find what you're looking for faster. When you apply a Page Category filter to your search you will see results where your search term appears on pages related to the category.  Here is a link to their blog post about this feature https://blog.newspapers.com/explore-our-new-page-categories-options/?xid=8822&utm_source=Internal&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Find_July-2025

All Day Virtual Seminar - Discovering New Paths with Thomas MacEntee

 

Explore innovative and practical tools to enhance your family history research. Whether you're just starting your journey or have years of experience, these dynamic sessions will inspire you. 

Join us from the comfort of your home, or if you already have plans for August 16, the sessions will be recorded and available for you to watch later. You won't want to miss this opportunity. 

When: August 16, 2025 - Zoom room opens at 8:30 am, and the first session starts at 9 am CT

Register: On or before August 2, 2025 -  Members $40 Non-Members $60

                Beginning August 3, 2025 - Members $55 and Non-Members $65

We have a membership special - $45 for a membership that covers through September 30, 2026. With this, you can save $20 on this seminar and next year's seminar, in addition to getting access to handouts and recordings of our Saturday Monthly Seminars. 

Sessions:

Creating An Ancestor Sketch - Face it: most genealogists never get around to publishing that family history book based on their genealogy research. How about a different approach: producing short 3-5 page "sketches" about an ancestor? You'll learn how to include a cover, photos, facts, family stories, source citations and more! And guess what, once you get a few of these ancestor sketches done, you can compile them together for one big book!

Translating, Transcribing and Summarizing Documents With AI - Learn how to harness the power of artificial intelligence to assist in translating, transcribing, and summarizing a variety of genealogical records. A handwritten baptismal record from the 1800s? No problem. A faded newspaper obituary? No problem. We'll cover the AI platforms as well as how to craft a solid prompt to get you the results you need. 

Internet Archive: A Gold Mine for Genealogists - The Internet Archive (www.archive.org) is a free, on-line repository rich with genealogy source documents including census images and e-books. 

Managing the Genealogy Data Monster - It is so easy to let large amounts of data involved with genealogy overwhelm you - to the point that family history research is no longer fun! Learn how to tackle the three main problem areas of genealogy data: research data, project data and file data so you can put the fun back in your research!

Speaker: Thomas MacEntee is a Baby Boomer guy with a love of punk rock music but also art history who somehow "fell" into the technology industry almost 40 years ago, and then left a lucrative IT career to pursue his love of family history and genealogy. Technology and historical research are opposites, but "tech people" like Thomas are needed to guide today's genealogists through the maze of options so they can deploy the best apps and devices to break down research brick walls. Thomas MacEntee: author, educator, advocate, entrepreneur, and that "genealogy guy" who helps you accomplish your family history goals. 

 

June Genealogy News

Chronicling America

 The Library of Congress is upgrading its search engine and interface for Chronicling America. The official change is scheduled for August 4, 2025.

Old Maps of Ireland

The first detailed land survey on a national scale was in Ireland in the mid-17th Century. Here is a link to a blog article from IrelandXO about maps. 

Reddit

Reddit is a kind of message board. Messages are posted in interest-based forums called subreddits. The genealogy subreddits are:

r/Genealogy

r/AncestryDNA

r/AskHistorians

r/Translator

Here is a link to an article about using Reddit. 

New York Genealogical and Biographical Society - Report on Tracing Immigrants to New York City

NYG&B has published a report of sources available to research immigrants to New York City held in their collection and at the New York Public Library. We might not be able to visit to take advantage of these items but could possibly find them in a library nearby. Here is a link to the report. 

Lunch at Chocolate Angel - June 17, 2025

 

Join Genealogy Friends Members and Enthusiasts for Lunch!

When: June 17, 2025 at 11:30 am ct

Where: Chocolate Angel in High Street Antique Mall, 800 Central Expressway, Plano, TX

Cost: $20 - Pick from a limited menu. Drinks & dessert are not included. 

RSVP to dining@genealogyfriends.org