All Day Workshop

On Saturday, November 19th Genealogy Friends presents "Sources & Techniques to Jump Start Your Research".

Speaker: Kelvin Meyers

Place: Plano Bible Church, 1900 Shiloh, Plano, TX

Time: 9:30-4:00

Topics:

• Plowing Through Land Records to Find Your Ancestor
• Tax Records or Why did Scarlett make a dress from her mother's drapes?
• Who cares who their neighbors were? You do, that's who!
• Where do I go after the 1930 census?

Cost:

Members before 11/1 $35 after 11/1 $38

Non-members before 11/1 $40 after 11/1 $45

Dining Out

Join your genealogy friends on Thursday, August 25, 2011, 7:00 pm at Carrabba’s Italian Grill for delicious food, fun with friends, and door prizes.

This is your chance to enjoy an evening out and help Genealogy Friends purchase even more valuable resources for the Genealogy section of the library. $5 of each meal will be donated to Genealogy Friends.

For $25 you get your choice of three entrees – lasagna, penne carrabba or chicken marsala, a caesar salad or soup of the day, fresh bread with herb mix and olive oil, an alcohol-free beverage, and a mini-dessert. The cost includes gratuity.

To make a reservation send your check for $25 to PO Box 860477, Plano, TX 75086-0477.

August Newsletter is Online

The August newsletter has been posted to the website. Click on the link above.

August Learn N

On August 27th Gen Friends is hosting a LearnN. There will be two one hour seminars on Organization and Planning for a Research Trip.

Where? Haggard Library, 2501 Coit Rd, Plano, TX

When? 10:15-12:30

A $10 donation is appreciated. All the money raised will go towards purchasing materials for the Genealogy Section of the library.

Visit Gen Friends Website for more info on all our events.

July Newsletter

The July newsletter is online. There are three pages of websites to help with your research.

June Newsletter

The June Newsletter has been posted to the Gen Friends website. This month's issue includes an article about one of our members search to validate a letter written to an ancestor signed US. His family lore says the letter was from Ulysses S. Grant. Follow Johnny's journey to discover the truth about the letter and his ancestor, Rowena Lucy Knight.

This is especially interesting to me since I also have a family story that involves US Grant. According to the Hoffmeister family, Grant thought his farm near St. Louis included land owned by Christian Hoffmeister. The matter was settled through a court battle in the 1870's.

We'd love to learn about the mysteries in your family history, write up the article and email a word document to newsletter@genealogyfriends.org. It is a great way to make your accomplishments or brick walls accessible to others who might be researching the same families. They don't have to be Collin County residents, we'll even include yankees.

May Newsletter

The May Newsletter has been posted to the website. The 1940 census will be released on 2 April 2012. Read the article in the newsletter to be sure you are ready to find your family when the digital images are available.

FamilySearch Civil War Records

FamilySearch announced the addition of millions of Civil War Era records on their website. This is an ongoing project, records will be added as they are indexed. Best part there is no fee to access these records. The records currently available include:

• Arkansas Confederate Pensions, 1901-1929
• Louisiana Confederate Pensions, 1898-1950
• Missouri Confederate Pension Applications and Soldiers Home Applications
• South Carolina, Civil Confederate Service Records, 1861-1865
• US, 1894 Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War
• US, Naval Enlistment Rendezvous, 1855-1891
• US, Navy Widows' Certificates 1861-1910
• US, Registers of Enlistments in the US Army 1798-1914
• US, Union Provost Marshal Files of Papers Relating to Two or More Civilians, 181-1866
• US, Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cads, 1907-1933
• Vermont Enrolled Militia, 1861-1867
• Arizona, Service Records of Confederate Soldiers of the Civil War, 1861-1863

You can help index the records to make them available. It doesn't take a lot of time. Please pitch in and do your part. Click on the link above for more information and to access the records.

May Saturday Seminar

We have an exciting seminar coming up on Saturday May 21, 2011. Marilyn Waligore who is Professor of Aesthetic Studies/Photography in the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Texas at Dallas where she directs the Photography Program is our speaker. Photographs of our ancestors are special treasures for family historians. Join us to learn about the history of photography.

Saturday seminars are held in the program room at WO Haggard Library, 2501 Coit Rd, Plano. Doors open at 10:00 and the program begins at 10:30.

April Saturday Seminar

On Saturday April 16th Brenda McClurkin, Archivist UTA Historical Manuscript Collection will be the speaker at the Gen Friends meeting. Join us to hear her speak, "Using Manuscript Collections in Genealogical Research" The meeting will be in the Program Room at WO Haggard Library, 2501 Coit Rd, Plano.

Saturday Seminar

On Saturday, March 19th Lynell Moss dazzled us with her extensive knowledge of FamilySearch.org. The look and feel of FamilySearch.org is changing and Lynell was our guide to the new site.

Check out FamilySearch.org and explore all that it has to offer. Content is being moved over from the old site and new content is being added. In addition to digitized records, the Family History Library Catalog there are tools to help us learn - the Wiki, research courses and tips on getting started.

If you have time, you can give back to the genealogy community by indexing records or posting information on the Wiki. Volunteer indexing is making the digitized records on FamilySearch.org easier to use.

Lynell was gracious enough to let us post her handout on the GenFriends website. Click on the link above to get to the handout.

Thanks again to Lynell.

GLHTA Hours Changing

Great news for those of us that work! Effective April 1st the Genealogy, Local History, Texana and Archives division located at the W.O. Haggard library will be open from 1-9 on Tuesdays. Let's support their efforts, stop by on a Tuesday and check out the collection. You might just be surprised, the collection isn't just for those of us researching Texas ancestors.

March Saturday Seminar

Join Genealogy Friends on Saturday, March 19, 2011 from 10:15 to 12:30 for our next free Saturday Seminar.

FamilySearch.org has updated their format. Lynell Moss will be our guide to learn how to navigate through the new websites and explore all the great content that is available on the website.

Location: Program Room at WO Haggard Library, 2501 Coit Road, Plano, TX.

2011 Saturday Seminars

Our schedule of Saturday Seminars is set for 2011 and it's posted on our website. Click on the link above to see the entire schedule. Here's what's coming up in the next few months:

• February 19th - Michelle Nickerson, history professor at UTD, will present "America's 'New Woman' At Work and Play" join us to learn about life for women in the early 1900's. Social history is a great way to learn about the lives of our ancestors. Women's lives changed drastically in this time period.
• March 19th - Lynell Moss will introduce us to the new FamilySearch.org website. The look and feel of FamilySearch is changing. Lynell will guide us through the changes.
• April 16th - Did you know that UTA had a manuscript collection? Brenda McClurkin is their archivist. In her talk, "Using Manuscript Collections in Genealogical Research," she'll not only tell us about the UTA collection but how to find and use manuscript collections in your research. Manuscript collections can provide you with sources you can't find anywhere else. My g-g-g grandfather taught foreign languages to students in St. Louis, Missouri in the 1870's. In the manuscript collection at the Missouri Historical Society I located one of the handbills he used to advertise his classes.

Saturday Seminars are held at the Haggard Library, 2501 Coit Rd, Plano, TX. Doors open at 10:00. Join us for networking and learning opportunities.

LearnN - February 26th

Our next LearnN will be on February 26th at Haggard Library. Here's the schedule:

• Doors open at 10:00
• First Session - Use a Weebly Website to Share Your Family Stories - 10:15-11:15
• Breat 11:15 - 11:30
• Second Session - Online Court Records - 11:30-12:30

Join us to learn about these two great topics. A $10 donation would be appreciated. All proceeds go towards purchasing materials for the Genealogy Section of the Haggard Library. Any questions, email Barbara Coakley at bjc1620@sbcglobal.net

Upcoming Events

As program chairperson, I'd really like to know what you want to learn about. If you have an idea for a presentation or a speaker, post a comment. It's easy, just click on Post a Comment and type in your idea. Is there a specific type of record, a location, an institution, or a time in history you want to learn about? Share it with us.

Thanks

Barbara Coakley

New Years Resolutions

This is traditionally a time when we make resolutions - this has been the topic of lots of articles on genealogy blogs and it's a great idea. Here are a few links you might want to check out for ideas on how to get your genealogy kick started in 2011.

About.com has a list of the top 10 resultions http://genealogy.about.com/od/basics/a/resolutions.htm

Elyse's Genealogy Blog focuses on citing your sources http://elysesgenealogyblog.com/genealogy-resolutions-citing-your-sources/

Megan Smolenyak encourages us to volunteer to help Unclaimed Persons http://www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-smolenyak-smolenyak/make-helping-unclaimed-pe_b_803009.html

Families.com has a couple of great ideas http://genealogy.families.com/blog/genealogy-resolutions-for-2011

According to Genealogy Insider 66% of adults make new years resolutions http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/2010/01/06/MayWeSuggestSomeGenealogyResolutionsFor2010.aspx

Need help with organization? Check out the online book In a Pile or a File http://timeforitnow.knotsindeed.com/genealogy/book/beginbook.html or Karen Clifford's website "Organize Your Paper Files" http://www.fileyourpapers.com/index.html.

What is your genealogy resolution for 2011?

Free Saturday Seminar - January 15, 2011

Join GenFriends at Haggard Library on Saturday, January 15, 2011 for a free seminar on Computer Security - Daniel Scurlock is giving a talk about your computer, the good and bad about Facebook, tips on backups, virus protection and other useful stuff for all of us.

When: January 15, 2011 10:15 am - 12:30 pm

Where: WO Haggard Library, 2501 Coit Rd, Plano TX

This is a great opportunity to network with other genealogists and pick up some tips to protect all the work you have done on your family history.