Genealogy Friends from Afar - look to local historical/genealogical societies where your families lived

 

Small historical or genealogical societies are wonderful for getting to know more about your relatives' FAN Club.  Here's an example on my mother's side of the family in Upstate New York (Scriba farming community established in 1811 in Oswego County).

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Scriba,_Oswego_County,_New_York_Genealogy

My journey started by reaching out to the Scriba Historical Society on Facebook.  Then, I started emailing the society's President (Mary).  I really wanted to borrow a copy of Charles D. Young's out of print, two volume books - A Scriba Anthology.  I already had attempted Interlibrary Loan and received the Table of Contents. Going low tech, Mary sent them to me via US Mail, and I later returned them the same way.

I also have enjoyed watching videos that this small welcoming group posts:

https://scribahistoricalsociety.org/video/

Success came yesterday. After trying to join a monthly Friday roundtable sharing call via Facebook didn't work last month, I was able to join via ZOOM with the Scriba NY folks in the audience and a Wichita KS man who grew up in Scriba and knew my grandparents. 

Tip for working with local societies:  Free ZOOM works well - log back if needed. Also, volunteer to help remotely such as I did with some scanning.

"Grandma's Recipes" was the roundtable sharing topic. I brought my copy of the 1982 Oswego County Historical Society Cookbook.  The participant from Kansas showed a Scriba Baptist Church cookbook from before I was born.  I now literally have some more of my Grandma's recipes for apple cake, doughnuts, wine drop cookies, baked corn, tomato conserve, salmon loaf, and popcorn balls. If only I can find her directions for making homemade cottage cheese. I loved making and eating it with her.

Relatives at RootsTech available until April 30, 2026

Just a few more days to reach out to cousins via FamilySearch and Relatives at RootsTech. At least, check out your cousins' trees to further your research with some hints on how you might be related.

Want to focus on one line?  Instead of scrolling through thousands of potential relatives, search by ONE ANCESTOR LINE.  For me, I narrowed it down to 16 matches on one surname where I have a brick wall question.

Happy searching, connecting, and researching.

Note: After access to Relatives at RootsTech ends next week, it'll be back for a couple of months before, during, and after RootsTech 2027.

Reclaim the Records

 Reclaim The Records is a non-profit activist group of genealogists, historians, researchers, and open government advocates. They identify important genealogical record sets that are wrongly restricted by government archives, libraries, and agencies. They file Freedom of Information and Open Data requests to get the public data released. If the government doesn't comply they take them to court. The records are digitized and put online for free. 

Thanks to their efforts here are a few of the records that are now available:

New Jersey Marriage Index 1901-2016

Missouri Death Index, 1968-2015

New York State Marriages (Outside of New York City) 1881-2017

New York State Death Index 1880-2017

The BIRLS (Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem) Database

Wyoming Marriage, Death, and Divorce Indices, 1900-1965

Maryland State Archives Collection

Visit their website for a full list https://www.reclaimtherecords.org/

Sign up for their newsletter  https://www.reclaimtherecords.org/#newsletter

DNA Day Event by Kelli Bergheimer

 Kelli Bergheimer founded a DNA group Genetics, Genealogy and You. They meet on the 3rd Sundays from 5-7 pm EST online. The meeting are 30 minutes of updates followed by a 60 minute presentation and Q&A. 

They have a DNA Day Event coming up on April 26th that is free to join.

Topic: DNA Day event
Time: Apr 26, 2026 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83306692927?pwd=N3mb0IhvX0fOjOFYR4cxQhyRPBRGap.1

Meeting ID: 833 0669 2927
Passcode: 584298

Their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046358384221# 

Colonial Taxes to the 20th Century

 

I remember the date of April 15 in two different ways - first, as my grandmother's birthday and, of course, filing my taxes over the years. 

If you'd like to explore tax records from 1791-1996, check NARA Record Group 58 at:

https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/058.html

For easier perusing, try Cyndi's List using the Taxes category:

https://www.cyndislist.com/taxes/general/

Any Patents or Inventors in your family tree?

 

Someone in our GenFriends group said "I don't have any inventors in my family". Come listen to Judy on Saturday. I thought the same thing until last year when I found a family member involved as a contractor in the farming community. 

I know of one distant cousin who applied for a patent shown below:

J. T. WELLS. TRUSS FOR BUILDINGS OR BRIDGES. No. 401,870.

Patented Apr. 23, 1889.

"Be it known that 1, JOHN TALCOTT Wants, of Scottsville, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Truss for Buildings or Bridges.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved truss for buildings for simplicity with great strength, and at the same time dispensing with metallic braces, thus making it a very cheap structure.

The invention consists of two parallel arches formed of bent boards or any material used in building and connected with each other by posts and braces."

Accompanying drawings, specifications, and letters of reference apparently were also included in the application.

Want to see what the barns look like?  Check this website - https://www.wellsbarnhistory.com/introduction/

Add to comments on this post with any patent and/or inventor discoveries you find!

 

Mining U.S. Census Records (1790-1950)

 

U.S. Census Records currently are available from 1790 to 1950. 

How time has flown! The 1950 Census was released on April 1, 2022 - four years ago.

Come to Research at the Library on 4/11/26 to ask and/or share your Census insights from your family research. See 1880 Agricultural Schedule for what I learned about my family in Scriba, Oswego, NY.

After this month's Research at the Library, we'll continue learning about Other Censuses at a future session.

Don't forget that you also can learn about the Census more at:

https://www.census.gov/en.html

Researching Revolutionary War Ancestors

The 250th anniversary of the United States (July 4, 2026) is officially known as the Semiquincentennial. It marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. There is a focus on resources to research ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War on both sides. Here are a few that might help:

• American Ancestors Revolutionary Roots https://americanrevolution.americanancestors.org/
• Free Research Guides
• Researching Patriot Roots
• Researching Loyalist Roots
• Video - Friend or Foe by David Allen Lambert
• Fold3 - Free access with a Plano or Dallas Library Card from home
• Revolutionary War Burial Index 1775-1875 - Index cards created by BYU Library from lists of burial locations of soldiers published by the DAR https://www.fold3.com/publication/1464/revolutionary-war-burial-index

Card for Joseph Durfee

• Revolutionary War Pension Files, 1775-1900 - Full Text Search - https://www.fold3.com/publication/467/us-revolutionary-war-pensions-1800-1900

Joseph Durfee mentioned in the Pension file for George Read. 

• Revolutionary War Service Records, 1775-1783   https://www.fold3.com/publication/470/us-revolutionary-war-service-records-1775-1783

Compiled Military Service Record - Joseph Durfee

German Genealogy Made Possible: A Roadmap for Research, Records, and Trees

FamilySearch and the German Genealogy Collective are offering a free one-day online event on Saturday, May 23, 2026. Link to save your seat - https://germangenealogycollective.com/fs-ggc-call

More information will be available soon. 

Leo - Decipher Your Archive

I recently learned about a new website. I haven't tried it yet - would love to hear opinions about it. 

From their website - https://www.tryleo.ai/

Leo is an AI powered transcription tool and provides storage for a digital library. 

• Upload an image of a handwritten or printed document written in a Latin script (e.g. English, French, German). 
• Leo delivers a quick and accurate transcription. 
• Organize your documents into custom folders, search them within their hub, and export them for use in projects or applications. 
• A credit transcribes a single image. Each image can be a single page or double-page spread. 

Pricing

• Free - Storage 100 images, Monthly credits 10
• $15 per month - Storage 10,000 images, Monthly Credits 100
• Additional credits are available for purchase

Newspaper Research Overview & Newspaper Finder

Our last Roundtable discussion topic was Newspaper Research. Here is a recap of our discussion and a new site I just learned about. 

• Newspaper Finder is a Database for Digitized Newspapers https://newspaperfinder.com/
• Newspapers offer a window into the lives of our ancestors. Suggestions for things to look for in newspapers:
• Obituary
• Professional Notices and Advertisements for Ancestor's business
• Announcements for engagements, weddings, divorces, births
• Stories about parties like wedding showers, birthday parties
• Court Dockets
• Organization Meetings - 4H, card clubs, garden clubs, quilting group, women's organizations, Business Men's Association, fraternal organizations like Odd Fellows, Masons, Elks, etc. 
• School - grades, attendance awards, spelling bees, annual school picnic
• Politics - elections, conventions
• Land - real estate, homestead land advertisements, homestead awards, delinquent tax lists
• Shipping News - ships arriving and departing from port cities
• Cemeteries - burial notices, cemetery association meetings
• Religion - church services, tithing, and functions
• Digitized newspapers are searchable using technology like Optical Character Recognition and Artificial Intelligence. The accuracy of the search feature depends on:
• The quality of the newspaper image
• Newspapers made spelling mistakes, search using alternate spellings
• Words were split between lines due to space requirements, search using the first few characters of the word or name
• Titles were used - search on Mrs. John Smith or terms like Dr. or Doctor, Mayor, etc. 
• Search on addresses, occupations, business names, or cemetery names
• Keep a list of alternate spellings for Surnames and search on all of them.
• Use wildcards if they are available on the site. 
• Alternative Newspapers
• Look for newspapers printed in an immigrants mother tongue. 
• Other sources - religious newspapers, school newspapers, business newspapers, organization newspapers. 
• Finding Newspapers
• Don't forget not everything is digitized. Search the Library of Congress Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries https://www.loc.gov/collections/directory-of-us-newspapers-in-american-libraries/about-this-collection/ 
• Use Interlibrary Loan if the newspaper you need hasn't been digitized. 
• Google the name of the newspaper. 
• U.S. Newspaper Program - beginning in 1982 the National Endowment for the Humanities provided grants to preserve newspapers on microfilm. This website has a list of the institutions that participated from all 50 states. https://www.neh.gov/us-newspaper-program 
• National Digital Newspaper Program replaced the U.S. Newspaper Program and now focuses on digital preservation. https://www.loc.gov/ndnp/
• Check Universities, local libraries, local genealogical and historical societies to find newspapers, both online and offline. 
• Check the FamilySearch Research Wiki for the location. 
• Portal to Texas History https://texashistory.unt.edu/
• Digitized Collections:
• Library of Congress Chronicling America https://www.loc.gov/collections/chronicling-america/about-this-collection/
• Ancestor Hunt https://theancestorhunt.com/
• Elephind https://www.elephind.com/
• Old Fulton History https://www.fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html 
• Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_online_newspaper_archives
• Google Newspaper Archive https://news.google.com/newspapers
• FamilySearch Newspaper Search https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/newspapers/
• Smalltown Papers Archive https://www.stparchive.com/landing.php?home=y
• Newspapers.com $ https://www.newspapers.com/
• GenealogyBank $ https://www.genealogybank.com/
• Old News $ https://www.oldnews.com/en
• Newspaper Archive $ (Free access Dallas Public Libraries or the National Genealogical Society Membership) https://newspaperarchive.com/ 

Do you have any Revolutionary War Patriots in your family?

 

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) public website has a wealth of resources for you to discover potential patriots.

(1) Ancestor Search https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search/?Tab_ID=1

Try searching on Livingston for last name, and Robert for first name.

Scroll down and click on Robert Henry Livingston (1760-1804) as an example.

Now try searches for couples in your direct line that may have service. For common surnames, it's helpful to also include spouse's name in your search. Also you can search using only the first 3-4 letters of a surname since spellings can vary.

(2) Descendants Search https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search/?Tab_ID=5

Try searching on Washington for last name, Martha for first name, and VA for state of birth.

Do you see Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (1731-1802) on the list?

Now try searches for your relatives who may have joined DAR already.

(3) Library Catalog -  https://nsdar.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01DAR_INST:DAR

This link has some helpful finding aids - See Revolutionary War Service (By State) as an example at: https://www.dar.org/sites/default/files/RevWarService.pdf

Happy exploring. Share your successes and/or add a question (in the comments field for this blogpost) to learn more.

Looking Ahead to Day 4 Roots Tech (Sat. March 7) or Dallas Genealogical Society General Meeting?

 

Saturday keynote speaker will be available via this link:

https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/session/rootstech-2026-general-session-3-steve-young

Ari Wilkins is speaking on Saturday at 11 am CT at DGS but there will be NO replay.

Whether virtually or in person, join us "live".

“If you blink, you’ll miss it!” Did your ancestor come from a one-horse town or an unincorporated community? Learn about researching country ancestors! This lecture will discuss a variety of census records; land records; maps (including census enumeration, postal route and cadastral maps); rural directories; newspapers and other sources. It will also discuss methodology and state of the art tools for mapping and researching our rural ancestors.

https://dallasgenealogy.org/general-meeting/

Day 3 - RootsTech - Friday March 6

 

(1) Miss today's keynote session?

Watch replay at: https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/session/rootstech-2026-general-session-2-tara-roberts

Or, check Tara Robert's book website at: https://www.tararoberts.me/written-in-the-waters

(2) Trying to focus on which webinars to watch?

Go to RootsTech Schedule and filter by topics such as Breaking Through Brickwalls, Census, and Compiled Sources. You also can filter by Speaker and by Skill Level.

(3) Wishing you could see "In Person" only sessions as a virtual attendee?  

Click on those sessions and download handouts and/or slides.  Related Content may also provide previous videos to watch.

Day 2 - RootsTech - Thur March 5 - Online Expo is open!

 

Browse the multitude of offers now live on:

https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/expohall/

(1) Search by Company or Category (such as Charts, DNA, Storytelling, Records, Preservation, Technology, Association, Society, Library).

(2) You also can browse "All Offers". This is an excellent time of year for a discounted price for something new (or perhaps lower a rate if close to a renewal). 

(3) Try this vendor as an example - FamilyTreeDNA

https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/expohall/familytreedna

Here you'll find that you can upload DNA data for free (along with other promotions).

Plus, this link takes you to:

CLASSES

PRODUCT DEMOS

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (downloadable)

(4) Don't forget to check the Sponsors links since they usually announce "What's News?"

e.g., https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/expohall/familysearch

https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/expohall/ancestry

https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/expohall/myheritage

https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/expohall/findmypast

Day 1 - RootsTech - Wed. March 4 (online)

 

RootsTech in person  is Thurs/Fri/Sat (March 5-7), but videos can be watched now.

Tips:

(1) Once you have registered for RootsTech (see previous post), create "My Schedule". 

When logged in, you can see your schedule in one place, so it's easy to play the videos.

(2) Look at your "Watch History" to see what you already viewed.

(3) For sessions with handouts, download them - helps with note-taking and for future reference.

(4) Don't forget to contact "Relatives at RootsTech" (see previous post). You might have a better likelihood of a response with many people online this week.

(5) Do you have favorite professional genealogists that you follow via social media or emails? Watch for their RootsTech insider tips and any special offers.  Some are in Salt Lake City in person, but many are online.

Family Tree Technology

 Natalie Webb helps people with technology and genealogy. Her website, Family Tree Technology, includes a blog, videos, and a dictionary. She hosts Office Hours each month where you can ask tech questions. 

This week, she is featuring a free Conference Momentum Pack to use during RootsTech. Check it out on her Website - Family Tree Technology

DNA Group Changes

 

Genealogy Friends DNA Special Interest Group has been meeting for a couple of years now and has evolved to intermediate and advanced topics. We are adding a second group that focuses on Beginning DNA topics. 

We would like your input to design programs for both groups that match your interests and experience. Please take a few minutes to answer the survey. 

  Survey Link 

March 21 (Saturday Seminar) "Be A Super Sleuth: Accessing Images and Full-Text Search in Family Search"

 

"Be A Super Sleuth: Accessing Images and Full-Text Search in Family Search" by Jill Morelli, CG, CGL

 Did you know that Family Search is placing their recently digitized material online in less than 24 hours after it is scanned? 

Did you know that they were placing them, not in the Catalog, but in Images? 

Did you know that using "Full Text Search," you can conduct an all word search in certain documents?

 What is a Super Sleuth to do? 

We will learn how to access these two features of FS to find your ancestors. Treasures await!

RootsTech with a Texas Focus

 

Discover the Innovative Genealogy and Archival Projects Shaping Texas

https://dallasgenealogy.org/texas-connect-2026/

CLICK on the "View Flyer" LINK so that you can see the many experts who will be speaking. Recordings will be available for anything you miss live.

RootsTech will be hosting their live Texas Connect virtual session on Saturday, March 7, 2026, from 9:00 – 11:00 am CST. This event brings spotlights outstanding genealogical and archival projects as well as collaborative and innovative work that is happening across the Lone Star State.

This will be a virtual even host on Zoom. Participants will be able to join one of the 19 break-out rooms to hear a short presentation followed by a question & answer period. Transitions (opportunity to go to a different break-out room) will occur every 20 minutes.

• You can join the live event on the 7^th at  https://tinyurl.com/TXConnect2026
• You will be able to view recordings of this years event (and view recordings from previous years) at  https://tinyurl.com/TXConnectYouTube
• View the flyer for more information

Tony Hanson will be conducting one of the sessions, sharing information about how the DGS has integrated the digital images of their publications in the society website.

Those of you who are planning to be at the library for the March7 General Meeting can stop by the Stone Room (located just outside of the O’Hara room) and watch parts of the Texas Connect presentation beginning at 9:00.