Annual Family History Festival on 26 October 2019 at Tampa's John F. Germany Public Library

The Famly History Festival will take place on Saturday, October 26 from 10:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. at the John F. Germany Public Library, 900 N. Ashley Drive, Tampa 33602. As usual, a variety of societies will host tables for a meet and greet, including your own PGS. VIVID-PIX photo editing software will host a table as well. 

Coffee will be provided in the morning as well as  a light lunch.  As usual, the festival is free and open to the public.  Please help spread the word.

PGS Events for the Week of 30 September to 5 October 2019

PGS is offering a Beginning Genealogy Series of six classes starting Thursday, 3 Oct at 1:00 PM and continuing for the next five Thursdays at the same time. This will be an excellent opportunity for new researchers to get a good start and for more accomplished genealogists to brush up on the basics. Be sure to invite friends who are interested in genealogy to attend.

Monday, 30-Sep-19 at 10:00 AM. Dead Men Do Tell Tales--Reconstructing life in a community using death certificates. Death certificates can tell us a lot about how our ancestors lived and died. When looked at as a group they can also tell us about life and death in their communities. This presentation focuses on an analysis of death certificates from Attleboro, Massachusetts over a five-year period, and shows how they can provide us with a window into the lives of the people who lived there. Instructor: Fortin, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Thursday, 3-Oct-19 at 1:00 PM--Introduction to Genealogy  (Beginner) --Basics of how to get started in researching your family history—what to do first, where to look & how to do it. Instructor: Bryan, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Saturday, 5-Oct-19 at 10:00 AM. Family Tree Maker User Group--Questions & Answers and Demonstration of how to use the Family Tree Maker genealogical database software. Instructor: Bryan-Hosmer. Local History Room, Largo Library.

Free National Archives Genealogy Fair Broadcast on You Tube on 23 Oct. 2019

This annual event is free and can be viewed on You Tube as it happens, and the video recordings will be available after the live event as well.

For schedule and handouts see:  https://www.archives.gov/calendar/genealogy-fair

PGS Events for the Week of 23-28 September 2019

Tuesday, 24-Sep-19 at 11:00 AM--DNA Basics for Genealogy. Learn about the types of DNA tests used for genealogy and popular testing companies. We compare the benefits of each type of test and each company?s database. Instructor: Manning-Luce, Jenkins A, Largo Library.

Tuesday, 24-Sep-19 at 1:00 PM--DNA Interest Group: Learn how to interpret your DNA test results, and apply those results to your current family history research. Join our casual group as we research and learn together. Instructor: Manning-Luce. Jenkins A, Largo Library.

27-Sep-19  10:15 AM—CANCELLED. The Franco-American Discussion Group previously scheduled is cancelled due to the death of the instructor, Charlie Grandmaison.

Saturday, 28-Sep-19 at 10:00 AM--RootsMagic User Group--Questions and answers and demonstrations of how to use the RootsMagic genealogy database software program. Instructor: Summers, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Blaine Bettinger Explores an mtDNA Possibility: "I Don't Match My Mother!"

This post is for those of you who are exploring your mtDNA. Blaine Bettinger (The Genetic Genealogist)  gives us an article titled Heteroplasmies and Poly-Cytosine Stretches - An mtDNA Case Study. It is not for the feint of heart in that it is rather technical, but Blaine gives lots of charts and examples to get us through it.

It explores a case in which a person's mtDNA does not match that of his mother!

Check it out at:
https://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2018/04/21/heteroplasmies-polycytosine-stretches-mtdna-case-study/

Lake County Public Library, Indiana Provides Genealogy Databases Online

The Lake County Public Library offers us online indexes of obituaries (from 1921), marriages and deaths (1857-1938), and births (1931-1938). The sources are various local newspapers.

The listing is an index only. Instructions are on the landing page for requesting actual copies.

http://engagedpatrons.org/database/LakeCountyObits/

PGS Events for the Week of 16-21 September 2019

Monday, 16-Sep-19 at 6:00 PM--Brick Walls. You will eventually reach a point where you seemingly can’t go back further on a particular line. This class will offer some ideas and suggestions for overcoming dead ends in your family history research. Instructor: Bryan, Local History Room, Largo Library.

Thursday, 19-Sep-19 at 1:00 PM--Irish Genealogy Interest Group. Topics vary monthly. Customs and culture, review of online resources, strategies for breaking down walls. Members are given an opportunity to share their ancestor discoveries, their travels to Ireland, and topics of interest. Instructor: Commons, Jenkins C, Largo Library.

Saturday, 21-Sep-19 at 10:00 AM--Computers in Genealogy. Question and answer session on the use of computers in genealogy research and record keeping. Instructor: Bryan, Jenkins B, Largo Library.

Saturday, 21-Sep-19 at 11:00 AM--Program Meeting. Maximizing Your Research on the FamilySearch.org--FamilySearch.org adds millions of new images to its website each month. Most are initially not indexed. This session demonstrates how access and search the indexed records, and how to work with the browsable images to locate your ancestors’ records. This session also explains informational resources at the new FamilySearch, and shows you how to get help. Speaker: George Morgan, Jenkins B, Largo Library.

Park Ridge, Illinois Area Obituaries Online

Park Ridge, Illinois is a suburb of Chicago. Its public library is host to a collection of over 29,000 obituaries taken from local papers from 1929 to the present. The listing can be browsed or searched.

What you see is an index only. To see the actual obituary you must visit the library. For questions, the number is 847-825-3123.

https://www.parkridgelibrary.org/obituaries/

Spencer, Iowa City Cemetery Listings Available Online

Scroll down to the bottom of the landing page to find links to listings for Riverside and North Lawn Cemeteries in Spencer, Iowa.

In both instances you will be taken to an interactive map. Double click to zoom in progressively on the map until you finally get burial information for a specific plot. If  you don't know the grave location, you can do a name search. When you click on a name in your hit list, you are taken to the location of the grave and presented with record information.

http://www.spenceriowacity.com/cemetery.php

PGS Events for the Week of 9-14 September 2019

Monday, 9-Sep-19 at 10:00 AM. Ancestry.com--basic search techniques for getting the most from this huge collection of databases. Instructor: Bryan. Local History Room, Largo Library

Saturday, 14-Sep-19 at 1:00 PM: DNA Tests by Ancestry.com--I have my results, what's next? This is a basic DNA class that provides strategies and techniques for using your Ancestry DNA results to find new relatives and discover keys to the past. Bring your laptop if you like but it is not required. If you do, bring your Ancestry login and password! Drop in from 2:00-4:00 or stay after the class for one-on-one assistance with your personal DNA questions. Instructor: Luce, Jenkins A, Largo Library.

Save the date for an upcoming event: Family History Assistance Day will be 9 Nov 2019 from noon-4:00 pm in Jenkins A, Largo Library. Be sure to invite your friends who are interested in getting started and come yourself for some one-on-one help.

Palatine German Research Trove at "Awesome Genealogy"

The Blog Awesome Genealogy - Life in the Past Lane, gives us a post dealing with researching the Palatine Germans. These are Germans from the Palatinate Region who came to North America roughly in the mid-1700's.

The post starts with an article for historical background and is filled with links for further research.

Check it out at:
http://www.awesomegenealogy.com/palatines.shtml

Suncoast Genealogy Society Features Patricia Lee Hobbs at 2019 Fall Seminar

Tips for Beginning Swedish Genealogy

This article comes from Paul Woodbury, a Legacy Tree Genealogist, writing in Lisa Louise Cooke's Blog, "Genealogy Gems."

Paul offers five tips and provides several links to other resources.

https://lisalouisecooke.com/2017/07/22/beginning-swedish-genealogy/