Join Us at Our March Branch Meeting: Getting the Most Out of FamilySearch.org

 

Next Meeting - Tuesday - March 2nd, at 7:30 p.m.

Getting the Most Out of FamilySearch.org - with Nick Post

Date: Jan. 2, 2021 @ 7:30 p.m. via Zoom (hosted by Durham Region Branch)

Nick Post will be explaining the benefits of using FamilySearch and using the Family History Guide. He will guide us through the next steps of what to do once signed on. He will highlight the areas in which you need to focus for your family history, and the time to search.

Nick is 70 years old and retired from the City of Oshawa. He has been doing Family History for forty-five years and is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He is the co-ordinator of the FIVE Family History Centers in this part of Ontario. His interest lies in Ontario, United States, Ireland and of course Europe. Some of the names he is researching are Post, Kelly, Munro, Wease, Hubble, Lalonde, Jones and Gray. He is a member of Ontario Genealogical Society and associated with the Durham and Quinte Branches. [NOTE: In case viewers may not recognize Nick with his Covid beard, we have included two photos.] :)

Register here for this Zoom session:-

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsdu2vqzoiHdf8Aa1UX9DJJ5ZuAdK4jqgy

Can't Wait for the "RootsTech Connect" Conference!

 

It's going to be the biggest RootsTech yet, and it's virtual and free! Watch this YouTube video to get a sneak peek at the all new Rootstech.org website that will be opened up to us this coming Wednesday. They are going to show you all the links, expo hall, speakers (both recorded & keynote), other languages and the Relatives at RootsTech feature (you must be in the global family tree at familysearch.org). They will also explain how logging into your FamilySearch account (register here for a free account) will increase your conference experience quite a bit.

The Expo Hall preview starts on Wed. Feb. 24th at 7 pm EST and the first Keynote speaker will be at 11 pm EST. This conference has over 314,000 registrants from 224 countries world-wide, so the conference will go 24 hrs a day for a full 3 days!!

Action Items:

1. Register for the conference at rootstech.org

2. Create your FamilySearch free account. 

3. Make sure that you are linked to the global Family Tree.

4. Sign in to your account and go to the Find New Relatives page and join in. You'll be able to chat with relatives once the conference starts.

It’s going to be like no event ever before, and I can’t wait!

My Heritage Offers Free Access to All Marriage Records Feb. 10 - 16

 

Daniel Horowitz is happy to announce that MyHeritage is offering free access to all marriage records for Valentine’s Day, from February 10–16! 

MyHeritage offers 158 collections marriage collections with 462,808,849. During this limited-time offer, you’ll be able to access these records for free even if you don’t have a MyHeritage plan. Please note that free registration to MyHeritage will be required for non-MyHeritage users.

Search the marriage records on MyHeritage and read more about these collections on our blog.

In addition, we invite your readers to enter our Valentine’s Day competition by sharing their colorized, enhanced, or color-restored wedding photos on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the hashtag #LoveInFullColor and tagging @MyHeritage for a chance to win! Three lucky winners will be awarded their choice of a Complete plan or a MyHeritage DNA kit! Alternatively, they can share their photos and stories by sending them to stories@myheritage.com with #LoveInFullColor in the subject line. 

Please share this news with your audience and encourage them to search the marriage records and submit their entries. The competition closes on February 14, 2021, so hurry up and share those photos!

 

Enjoy,

Daniel Horowitz

Genealogy Expert

Ontario Ancestors Branches Open Access to Databases for Family Day

Never Done Before: A Special Opportunity from Several Ontario Ancestors Branches

As Family Day in Ontario draws closer, some of the Branches of the Society have developed an opportunity to further promote membership within the Society. The idea is to share the resources of their Branches through the Members’ Only Sections of their WordPress Websites. These Branches have invested a great deal of time in their Members Only and are prepared to be involved in this process.  We are hoping that by giving people a “sneak peek” into the amazing resources at six of our branches, that we can show non members the value of membership; and members can see the opportunities to join more branches.

To be honest, this has never been done before as Branches take the lead in promoting and encourage those seeking their past to join the Society and it Branches/SIGs to further gain access to documents and educational resources. This Boots on the Ground approach is how we as a Society as a whole bear responsibility for membership and promotion of the great work we do.

 

The Branches that are involved: Kent, Essex, Toronto, Niagara Peninsula, Huron and Lambton.

 

To be honest, we don’t know if this is even going to work, but we would rather fail than not do anything at all. So we mark this as a test and we will report back to you all on its success.

 

These are the parameters:

 

All Society Members receive free access with their membership.

 

All Non Society Members will have to purchase a Weekend Pass to view the Members Only Sections.

 

If they choose to join, Non Members will receive a $10 Credit towards their new Society membership and any Branches that they join as well.

 

This program will run from Friday February 12^th at 5 pm to Monday February 15^th at 5 pm.

 

Google Analytics will be used to monitor the success of this program.

 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We would encourage you to promote this as well.

 

Thanks

 

Steve Fulton UE

 

Past President/I.T. Administrator

Ontario Ancestors

WikiTree Presentation Recording is on YouTube

 

Mags Gaulden, our presenter at our February Meeting, has given permission for the recording of her lecture be posted on the Durham Region Branch OGS YouTube channel.

On youtube.com, type "durham region branch ogs" into the Search field. Click on the choice with the tombstone picture. Many of our branch meeting videos over the last 5 years are posted here.

While you are there, click the "Subscribe Button" and the "bell" icon in order to receive notice of any new videos. Click on the "thumbs up" icon below the video if you liked it.

Whitevale Cemetery & Construction

 

If anyone is trying to get the Whitevale Cemetery in Pickering Township, it is currently surrounded with construction. 

If you need access, take Taunton Rd to Whites Road North (formerly Sideline 26). Go north to some barriers across the new bridge that is going over the Highway 407. Make a U-turn at the barriers, and the ramp to Whitevale Rd is on your right.

If anyone knows more about this construction, I'd like to hear from you. 

Nancy Trimble, 

durhamchair@ogs.on.ca

Feb. 2nd Meeting "WikiTree: The Ins and Outs of a Global Family Tree" with Mags Gaulden

 

"WikiTree: The Ins and Outs of a Global Family" 

- with Mags Gaulden

Date: Feb. 2, 2021 @ 7:30 p.m. via Zoom

WikiTree is a single global family tree. This means there is only one profile per person who ever lived. You and your cousins would bring together your research and work your shared profiles together. How can this be? Collaboration. Got DNA? Got family Photos? What about colourful Family stories? WikiTree has incredible tools for working our limbs and for collaborating with cousins. We will look at how to add your limbs to our big ole shared tree as well as how to use WikiTree's plethora of tools to move your family research forward.

Mags is a Professional Genealogist specialising in Genetic Genealogy as the founder of Grandma's Genes in Ottawa. After earning her Bachelors Degree from Columbia College, she began her own Genealogy as a "hobby". This 30-year "hobby"eventually led her to a Leader role with WikiTree.

Mags is an international Genetic Genealogy Lecturer, Blogger and a Social Media Maven. She serves as Admin for Facebook groups including the ISOGG Facebook Group. She is a former member of the Canadian Casualty Identification Team.

Through her non-Profit work with mitoYDNA,org, Mags and other genetic genealogists are providing a free and accessible YDNA and mtDNA database for the Genealogy Community.

"Doing DNA Right" at https://www.mitoydna.org/

Please join us!

Register now at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYlc--spjsrGNceRy_Rj7tpPDVnCtrfEMRo