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

DNA Day Specials

DNA Day was Friday, April 25. Many DNA related companies are offering specials on their products, here are a few:

Your DNA Guide - Offers expire on April 30th

YourDNAGuide Book and Workbook have been updated to include information about Ancestry ProTools Shared Matches on sale 20% off.

Genealogy Solves It! Use coupon code GSIDNA to take 20% off on-demand forensic investigative genetic genealogy experience.  

Here is a link to their blog post with more information. 

Ancestry DNA Ask Me Anything with Crista Cowan - here is the link to the replay. 

FamilyTreeDNA Test Kits Sale - Offer expires April 30th. Here is a link.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars 50% Off - Offer expires April 30th. New members only $25 for annual membership use code Spring25 at checkout. Link to website. 

Membership Special

Our normal individual membership year from October 1st through September 30th is $30. If you join or renew after April 1st, we have a special deal available—$45 for membership from April 1 to September 30, 2026. 

Members can access handouts and recordings for the Saturday Seminars and attend our August All-Day Seminar at a discounted rate. 

More information is available on the Membership Page on our website. 

Volunteer Opportunities - We Need Your Help!

Genealogy Friends is an all-volunteer organization that depends on our members' help to keep the society running. We need to fill these positions:

Treasurer: Accounts for income and expenses for the society using Quicken, PayPal, and the bank website. Procedures are documented. You will be trained on the procedures and technology. If you can reconcile your checking account, you can do this. Duties can be done monthly and take about 30-45 minutes. More work will require extra time in Sept/Oct for Membership Renewals and August for the All-Day Seminar. 

Blog - Posting on the Genealogy Friends News on Blogger, including the calendar, summary of Roundtable and DNA Group meeting content, current events in Genealogy, and other items of interest. Training material and help with content are available. Tim required 1-2 hours per week. 

Photographer - Take pictures at in-person Gen Friends events and upload them to Google Drive to be posted on the website. 

Fold3 War of 1812 Pension File Update

 Fold3 Content Update:

In the past three months over 3,000 War of 1812 Pension files have been digitized. Most of the surnames begin with S and T. Link to their Blog Post.

Genealogy News

Enjoy FREE ACCESS to 96 million+ Civil War records through April 14, 2025, at Fold3. To see a full list of the records in the featured collections, please click here.

The 6th Annual 24-Hour Genealogy Webinar Marathon is April 3-4, 2025. This FREE event is hosted by Legacy Family Trees and My Heritage. Click here to explore the full schedule and register for free.

Tales & Trails, the 2025 NGS Family History Conference, is being held May 23-26, 2025, in Louisville, KY. Visit the National Genealogical Society website for registration and event information.

Registration is still open for most of the virtual (June 22-27) and in-person (July 13-18) courses being offered during the GRIP Genealogy Institute. Check the webpage for more details.