Saturday, December 27, 2014

Ancestry.com is giving free search access until December 29, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. EST to some of its collections released in 2014 -- sort of a review of the year.

There is a special offer page set up. You can see a complete list of which database collections are included at the specialized search page. A variety of countries are included: 1911 census for Canada and the UK, the 1940 USA Census, Hamburg Passenger Lists, Quebec Drouin Collection, US Passengers and Immigration Lists, US World War I and II Draft Cards ... see the list for more.

You do need to create a Free Account to see the record. This is the account type you use to have an online tree or to leave/get messages on the message boards without a paid membership. I am not sure if your credit card is required -- it says create Free Account not create Free Trial Membership.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE


Saturday, December 20, 2014

More Digital Images Added to Michigan Probates on FamilySearch.org

Today, FamilySearch.org added more digital images to its Michigan, Probate Records, 1797-1973 collection.

A lot more counties have been added now but remember not everything is digital and online yet. One good thing is that this time is that FamilySearch seems to have digitized some of the index books. The index books are needed to figure out which estate file number is the one you seek.

Remember each county varies in what is available. Use the FamilySearch catalog to determine what records were microfilmed for the county you are dealing with and to figure out if more digital images are likely to be added later.

Good luck manually browsing/searching these digital images.

Oh, and remember these records are free.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

MCGG Meeting Topics Revealed for 2015

Hi Everyone!

We have released MCGG's 2015 meeting schedules for our MCGG Friday Group and our Let's Talk...Genealogy discussion group on Wednesday.

The meeting dates and topics can be found on the respective pages of this blog site or in our Southeast Michigan Genealogy Events calendar on the Calendar page. 

NEW! On both the MCGG Friday Meetings and Let's Talk Meetings blog pages, you will now find the PDF file of our current meetings flyer which can be viewed and downloaded. (Please note the image of the flyer in this post is just a low-res image. To see/download the flyer PDF you need to go to either of the meeting pages.)

We hope you enjoy the coming genealogy season.

See You Soon at the Mt Clemens Public Library!

LE

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Webinars, Webinars ... Everywhere You Look There is a Learning Opportunity

Are you interested in learning? How about learning genealogy and history related things?

Was that a yes I heard out there?

Well, for those that said yes there are a lot of opportunities out there on the internet. Some are for a fee but many of them are free. If you really like the webinars of a particular host or want to see an older, archived webinar the cost of membership is not very high for many of these webinar hosts.

Legacy Family Tree Webinars

Legacy Family Tree Webinars has released its 2015 webinar schedule. The webinars, mostly held at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays, are free to view live and for almost a week afterwards at which time they become accessible to webinar subscribers only. Some webinars are held on Friday and this year a few webinars will be held at night. Handouts are available only to webinar subscribers/members. Easy multiple-webinar sign-up at one time was added to the webinar registration system earlier this year. This greatly simplifies the registration process so don't forget to use it. Legacy webinar membership is $9.95/month or $49.95/year. (Note: If you view a webinar, there is often a discount code word which will get you 10 percent off items from the store, including webinar memberships.) Webinar members get an additional 5 percent off when signed-in.

Southern California Genealogical Society

The Southern California Genealogical Society (SCGS) has released its 2015 webinar schedule. The webinars, held the first Saturday and third Monday of the month, are free to live viewers and handouts are included. After the live webinar, only SCGS members can view the archived webinars. SCGS membership is $35/year and includes other benefits.

Illinois State Genealogical Society

The Illinois State Genealogical Society has released its 2015 webinar schedule.  The webinars are held the second Tuesday of the month at 9 p.m. ET and are free to live viewers and handouts are included. After the live webinar, only ISGS members can view the archived webinars. ISGS membership is $35/year.

Wisconsin State Genealogical Society

The Wisconsin State Genealogical Society will be releasing its 2015 webinar schedule soon. The webinars are held the third Tuesday of the month at 8 p.m. ET and are free to live viewers and handouts are included. After the live webinar, only WSGS members can view the archived webinars. WSGS membership is $30/year.

FamilyTreeDNA

FamilyTreeDNA hosts a variety of webinars on various DNA topics. Topics are not announced very far in advance of the scheduled date. The webinars are free to view, live or archived. There are no handouts.

FamilySearch

This year, the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City, Utah, began broadcasting the genealogy classes held in the library. Information about these free webinars are located at the FHL's page on FamilySearch. Classes through April 2015 have been listed but check back occasionally because sometimes additional webinars are added. Most of these webinars include handouts. And they are supposed to be recorded and archived in the FamilySearch Learning Center.

The societies and company listed above are not the only online webinar opportunities out there.

GeneaWebinars is a blog that hosts a calendar specializing in keeping track of the numerous genealogy webinars being held. About 35 organizers/hosts list their webinars in the calendar. Organizers/Hosts use a variety of webinar delivery systems from GoToWebinar to Google Hangouts to Twitter. Most entries have links taking you to the registration page for that webinar or the website of the host.

So if you want to learn something new or review a specific topic, there is likely a webinar out there for you. But you might have to find some patience if the webinar is not scheduled until later in the year.

Have fun learning.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE


Tuesday, December 16, 2014

A New Season of "Who Do You Think You Are?" is Coming in February 2015

The new season of Who Do You Think You Are? is set to premiere on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 on The Learning Channel (TLC) at 10 p.m. There will be eight new hour-long episodes.

So who is on Who?

Four of the eight celebrities have been identified.
  • Julie Chen
  • Angie Harmon
  • Sean Hayes 
  • Bill Paxton

If you missed last season, you can catch some of it at the show's website.

Mark your calendars so you do not forget to watch.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Get Ready for Our Annual Holiday Party/Pot-luck this Friday

After tonight's Let's Talk...Genealogy meeting it is time to get ready for our holiday party.

Friday, December 12th at 12:00 p.m. (noon) is our Annual Holiday Party and Pot-luck at the Mount Clemens Public Library. It is a joint meeting of the Macomb County Genealogy Group Friday group and the Let's Talk...Genealogy Wednesday group.

Bring a dish (home-made or store-bought) to share and come have some fun. (Remember this meeting starts at noon rather than our usual 1 p.m. start time.)

Please email Ann at the MCGG email (see our contact page) if you plan on attending so we know approximately how many tables to set up. But if you don't know until the last moment, come anyway.

Again this year, just for fun, we are going to have a White Elephant Auction. Look around your house and if you find something that you don't want (but someone else might) wrap it up and bring it. Oh, and bring a few dollars so you can bid on an "elephant" and raise some money for the genealogy room equipment. Bidding opens at 50 cents.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

Friday, December 5, 2014

This Wednesday's Let's Talk...Genelaogy meeting topic is What Have You Learned This Year?

This Wednesday, December 10, at 7 p.m. in the Genealogy/Local History Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library is MCGG's Let's Talk...Genealogy meeting. The discussion topic of the night is What Have You Learned This Year? 

Let's discuss and share what we have learned in genealogy or history this past year. We'll give everyone a turn. 

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

 LE

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Today Ancestry.com Released New Holiday Sale Prices for 2014

The Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale ended just over two hours ago. Today, Ancestry.com announced its holiday sale for the remainder of the season.

The length of the sale depends on the item.

AncestryDNA tests are now $89 which is 10 percent off the regular price of $99. The test is on sale until 6:59 p.m. EST Sunday, Dec. 21.

There is a code for free shipping on DNA tests but out on the internet people have been reporting that the code did not work every time with the Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale. It seemed to not always work when purchasing a single test but would work when purchasing multiple tests. Despite this recent "problem", it is worth a shot at saving the $9.95 shipping cost by entering the coupon code to see if you can get free DNA shipping on AncestryDNA tests. The code is FREESHIPDNA which was supposed to be valid until April 1, 2015. (The code is listed on RetailMeNot but you do not have to go to that website to get the code. It is as you see above, all capital letters with no spaces.)

Ancestry has also discounted Ancestry Gift Memberships by 10 percent and Family Tree Maker software by 25 percent. See this Ancestry Gifts page for details. Note: if you want the software on CD/DVD there is an added shipping cost which is $5 for our area. Shipping costs vary by location. These particular items are on sale until 11:59 p.m. EST Friday, Dec. 26.

Be careful not to get lost in the various Ancestry.com "store" and "gift" pages. Not all of the pages consistently show the sale prices. Some just show and charge the regular prices. So be sure you are on the holiday Give A Gift page so you get the sale price. 

As you can see, Ancestry.com's holiday sale is not quite as good as its short after Thanksgiving sale. But sometimes a little savings is better than none.

See you soon at the Mt Clemens Public Library!

LE

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Another Genealogy Holiday Sale -- Extended Until Tonight, Sat. Nov. 29

Legacy Family Tree held its first Black Friday Sale yesterday. The response was good so Legacy has extended that sale until 11:59 p.m. MT tonight (Saturday, November 29.) That's 1:59 a.m. EST.

The sale is 50 percent off various Legacy Family Tree 8.0 Deluxe software bundles. Legacy has set up a special Black Friday Sale catalog page for the sale. Even though the page's text has not been updated, I was alerted via email that the sale was extended to Saturday.

Legacy Family Tree software has "two versions" built inside its genealogy software. The standard version is free. Just supply an email and download the software to start using it. The deluxe version is a pay version which gets you a code that unlocks many more features of the software.

Here are the bundles that are on sale. (Note: If you make a purchase do not select the upgrade pricing link as it will take you to the catalog entry that costs more than this special pricing. So just click the add to cart for the bundle version you desire.)

For items that require shipping, the shipping and handling cost at Legacy is a flat $7.00 rate.

Legacy 8.0 Deluxe Bundle
Software CD and a printed user-guide manual shipped to you along with via download the software and a PDF user-guide manual for no-wait use, Legacy Deluxe Charting software (installed/unlocked with deluxe purchase) and Legacy for Beginners training video which is on the software CD
Black Friday Sale $19.98 regularly $39.95

Legacy 8.0 Deluxe Download Bundle
Software and a PDF user-guide manual via download only, Legacy Deluxe Charting software (installed/unlocked with deluxe purchase)
Black Friday Sale $17.48 regularly $34.95

Legacy 8.0 Deluxe Download
Software only via download, Legacy Deluxe Charting software (installed/unlocked with deluxe purchase)
Black Friday Sale $14.95 regularly $29.95

Legacy Family Tree -- Unlocked! book by Geoff Rasmussen
Printed book shipped to you plus the PDF version of the book via download
Black Friday Sale $14.95 regularly $19.95

See you soon at the Mt Clemens Public Library!

LE

Friday, November 28, 2014

AncestryDNA Tests are on Sale -- Black Friday through Cyber Monday ONLY!

Finally, Ancestry.com announced a holiday sale on AncestryDNA tests. But it is a short one.  

The sale runs from today, Black Friday Nov. 28, through Cyber Monday, Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

What's the sale? AncestryDNA tests are now $79 which is 20 percent off the regular price of $99.

Remember, you can get free DNA shipping on AncestryDNA tests by using the code FREESHIPDNA which is valid until April 1, 2015. (The code is listed on RetailMeNot but you do not have to go to that website to get the code. It is as you see above, all capital letters with no spaces.)

For this short sale, Ancestry has also discounted Ancestry Gift Memberships by 20 percent and Family Tree Maker software by 40 percent. See this Ancestry Gifts page for details. Note: if you want the software on cd/dvd there is an added shipping cost which is $5 for our area. Shipping costs vary by location.

See you soon at the Mt Clemens Public Library!

LE

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

23andMe Advertises its Normal Discount on Multiple-Test Purchase Orders

Though 23andMe is not running a holiday sale, as of today it is advertising its normal discount on multiple tests purchased in the same order.

An autosomal test purchased through 23andMe costs $99. When multiple tests are purchased at the same time, you receive 20 percent off of each additional test after the first one. So test one costs $99 and tests two through however many purchased in the same order costs $79.20 each.

23andMe's test includes your ancestral composition (ethnicity mix), autosomal matching with other testers, a tree tool, a look at any neanderthal percentage, and a peek at your mtDNA (and Y-DNA if applicable) lineage/haplogroups. This company used to provide health-related genetic reports but currently only provides the uninterpreted raw DNA data.

Other things to note about 23and Me's autosomal test:
  • 23andMe does provide an autosomal chromosome browser similar to the one at FamilyTreeDNA. A chromosomal browser allows you to see where on each chromosome you match another person.
  • 23andMe does not do Y-DNA or mtDNA matching. Only FamilyTree DNA does Y-DNA and mtDNA matching. 23andMe gives you just a peek at your haplogroup type(s).
  • Raw DNA data from current 23andMe autosomal tests can not be transferred to FamilyTree DNA because a different test chip is used.

Now we just have to wait to see what kind of sale Ancestry might offer us on its autosomal test, AncestryDNA. As soon was we know, we'll let you know.

See you soon at Mt Clemens Public Library!

LE

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Holiday Savings on DNA Tests have Started Rolling In -- Get Ready to Test

The first of the 2014 Holiday Season's DNA Sales has been announced.

FamilyTreeDNA has announced sale pricing on several of its tests. The sale runs from now until December 31 at 11:59 p.m. CST.

Autosomal Tests
FamilyFinder is on sale for $89, regularly $99.
Autosomal Transfers (from AncestryDNA and 23andME (v3 chip only) had a pricing change about a month ago so this "test" is not on sale. Initial transfers are now free for a peek at your top twenty matches. Full access now costs just $39, or it can be unlocked for free if you get four other friends/relatives to transfer their raw DNA data using a special link created for your transferred test.

Y-DNA Tests
Y37 test is on sale for $129, regularly $169.
Y67 test is on sale for $199, regularly $268.
Y111 test is on sale for $289, regularly $359.

mtDNA Tests
mtDNA+ test is not on sale, it is regular price $69.
mtFull Sequence test is on sale for $169, regularly $199.

Combination Tests
FamilyFinder + Y67 is on sale for $288, regularly $367.
FamilyFinder + mtFull Squence is on sale for $258, regularly $298.
FamilyFinder + Y37 is on sale for $218, regularly $268.
Comprehensive Genome (FamilyFinder + mtFull Squence + a male specific Y-chromosome test)  is on sale for $457, regularly $566.

Test Upgrades
There are also holiday savings on the various mtDNA and Y-DNA test upgrades. See the image of the savings chart above for specifics. An upgrade will add additional markers to a previously purchased test without having to do another spit swab (as long as the DNA sample is still viable.)

AND Mystery Rewards -- New This Year
Each week until the end of the year, every FamilyTreeDNA customer will get a mystery reward link in his/her myFTNDA dashboard. (Remember, each tested person is separate at FamilyTree DNA so each test you administer has its own dashboard.) The reward, which can value up to $100, will vary because it is randomly generated. It could be an additional percentage off current savings, a specific dollar amount on top of current savings, specific savings off of specific tests, or something similar. You can use your Mystery Reward for yourself or gift it to another person. Each Mystery Reward offer is good for that week only. A new Mystery Reward is generated for each week so sign in each week to see your special offer for that week.

We'll let you know when we see any other holiday DNA sales.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

Monday, November 10, 2014

This Wednesday's Let's Talk...Genealogy topic is: Getting Results on Ancestry.com

This Wednesday, November 12, at 7 p.m. in the Genealogy/Local History Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library is MCGG's Let's Talk...Genealogy meeting. The discussion topic of the night is Getting Results on Ancestry.com.


We'll share tips for making Ancestry.com spill the beans -- the right beans, not all the beans -- in search results.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

 
LE

Friday, November 7, 2014

More Free Access for this Veteran's Weekend

In addition to the free access offered by Findmypast this weekend (see the earlier post about this), there are two other free opportunities this weekend.

Ancestry.com is giving free access to its top military records collections in honor of Veterans Day. Free access runs until 11:59 p.m. EST Nov. 11. 

You do not have to start a free trial to see the search results. However, you do have to have a free log in account to access the actual records. (Note: a free log in accounts are used to post to message boards and for online trees but do not have subscription service.) The actual search page for this free access special is hard to find so here is the link to the correct page. The splash page on Ancestry's homepage announcing the free access takes you to the free trial membership page not to the free access special.

Sweden's ArkivDigital, its online digital archive, is offering free access to its entire site on Saturday, Nov. 8, to Sunday, Nov. 9. Each year the second Saturday in November is National Archives Day in Sweden.

Note: I have not found a specific start or stop time for the free access offer by ArkivDigital. So 12:00 a.m. November 8, in Sweden (Central European Time Zone) is 6 p.m. EST November 7, here in Michigan. That means Sweden is six hours ahead of us.

ArkivDigital has church records, estate inventories, passenger ship manifests, military records, court records, amongst others.

For details on how to access this digital archive's open house see the instruction page. (Yes, the instructions are in English.) Essentially you have to register and then download some software to access the images. After downloading the software, you start it and log into the website/software.

To keep up with additions and changes to ArkivDigital you can read its new English language blog.

Have fun researching for free this weekend.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Last Reminder: Tomorrow's Meeting is on Researching at the Archives of Michigan

Don't forget about tomorrow!

On Friday, November 7, at 1:00 pm in the auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, Kris Rzepczyski, senior archivist at the Archives of Michigan, will present Researching Your Family History at the Archives of Michigan.


If you are in the Mount Clemens area, PLEASE JOIN US.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library! 
 

LE

Findmypast is Free for this Veterans Weekend/Remembrance Weekend

This weekend the genealogy/family history subscription website, Findmypast, is offering free access in honor of Remembrance Weekend/Veterans Weekend. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I.

Free access is being offered at all of Findmypast's regional websites.

For the United Kingdom (the original) version of Findmypast aka Findmypast.co.uk  :
Here are the details on the free access weekend from the United Kingdom version of the website. Free access is listed as running from 12:00 p.m. GMT Friday, Nov. 7 until 11:59 a.m. GMT Monday, Nov. 10.

For the United States version of Findmypast aka Findmypast.com  :
Here are the details on the free access weekend from the United States version of the website.
Free access is listed as running from 7 a.m. EST Friday, Nov. 7 until 6:59 a.m. EST Monday, Nov, 10.

Essentially the terms and conditions of the free access offer say:
To access the records you will need to be signed in at Findmypast: you can register for free using your name, email address and country of residence. The free access excludes the UK Electoral Registers (2002-2013) and the UK Companies House Directors (2002-2013) record sets. Current Findmypast Local subscribers (whilst they have an active Britain, Ireland, US & Canada or Australia & New Zealand subscription) will be able to access all World records (except those listed above) during the free access weekend. Current Findmypast World subscribers (with active World subscriptions expiring after 11:59am (GMT) [which is 6:59am (EST)] on Friday 7 November 2014, excluding Findmypast Library accounts) will have an additional three days added on to their subscription. Free access is subject to our fair usage policy: each account may view up to a maximum of 1,000 records per day.

Note: From what I remember of the free access offer Findmypast did during a prior World Cup, you do not have to provide a credit card -- you just need to have/create a username identity.

Find My Past is also hosting a Live Broadcast on Saturday, November 8, featuring an expert panel of Findmypast historians and guest speakers. The broadcast airs live from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. GMT, or for us here in the United States that is 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST. (The UK is five hours ahead of us.) For more information on the Live Broadcast and how to view it, see Findmypast's Blog at the United Kingdom site or the Blog at the United States site

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

Monday, November 3, 2014

Join Us for this Friday's Meeting: Researching Your Family History at the Archives of Michigan

On Friday, November 7, at 1:00 pm in the auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, Kris Rzepczyski, senior archivist at the Archives of Michigan, will present Researching Your Family History at the Archives of Michigan.

If you are in the Mount Clemens area, PLEASE JOIN US.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library! 
 

LE

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

FamilySearch Photoduplication Service -- A Free Resource

It isn't anything new but since February of this year it is being done a new way.

For years, the Family History Library has had a photoduplication service for items that could not be sent to a local family history center. For these items (most often books), patrons could fill out a request form and receive by mail a few pages for a small fee.

Since February the service has gone completely electronic/digital -- from the request form to receipt of the "copies." A few new rules have been implemented since going digital. One new rule is each person is limited to 5 requests/single copies per month. Another is that if the service can be completed completely digitally then it is free.

To learn more about the service and for a link to the request form, see the Photoduplication Services page. Remember to read all of the information on the page before filling out the request form.

Wondering what you could request with this service? How about a family member's death certificate from the "Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952" database on the FamilySearch website?

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

Monday, October 27, 2014

National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair Begins Tomorrow, October 28, 2014

The National Archives is holding its Virtual Genealogy Fair this week, October 28 to October 30.

You can find the schedule of classes at the National Archives website including speaker bios, handouts and slides for each class. The live classes can be viewed on YouTube.

Tuesday's classes viewable at YouTube are:
  • 10:00 a.m. Introduction to Genealogy
  • 11:00 a.m. Preserving Your Personal Papers
  • 12:00 p.m. When Saying "I Do" Meant Giving Up Your U.S. Citizenship
  • 1 p.m. Overview of American Indian Records and Resources on the National Archives Website. 

Wednesday's classes viewable at YouTube are:
  • 10:00 a.m. Great Granny Eunice came from Ireland, Grandpa Fred was in the War, Can Access Archival Databases (AAD) Help Me?
  • 11:00 a.m. World War I Draft Registration Cards
  • 12:00 p.m. Ancestry.com
  • 1:00 p.m. Finding the Correct Ancestor: Using Civil War and Census Records
  • 2:00 p.m. FamilySearch
  • 3:00 p.m. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
  • 5:00 p.m. Federal Land Records at the National Archives

Thursday's classes viewable at YouTube are:
  • 10:00 a.m. Family History and the FOIA: Researching 20th Century FBI records
  • 11:00 a.m. Discovering Your Family's Past in Military and Early Veterans Administration Personal Data Records and Selective Service Records
  • 12:00 p.m. Individual Deceased Military Personnel Files (IDPFs)
  • 1:00 p.m. Vets and Feds in the Family Tree
  • 2:00 p.m. Alien Ancestors during Times of War
  • 3:00 p.m. Patently Amazing: Finding Your Family in Patent Records
If the fair is like previous ones held, many of these classes should be viewable after the fair has concluded.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

MCGG Friday Meeting: Researching Your Family History at the Archives of Michigan

On Friday, November 7, at 1:00 pm in the auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, Kris Rzepczyski, senior archivist at the Archives of Michigan, will present Researching Your Family History at the Archives of Michigan.

If you are in the Mount Clemens area, PLEASE JOIN US.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library! 
 

LE

Thursday, October 23, 2014

MCGG Resource Development Session is tomorrow Friday, October 24

On Friday, October 24, at 1:00 pm in the auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, we are holding one of our MCGG Resource Development Sessions.
What is a Resource Development Session? It is where those of us who want to contribute back index circuit court and other Macomb County records to create databases to help other researchers. It does not matter if you have Macomb County ancestors or not. It's a nice way to help others; learn what is involved in an indexing projects; and if you do have Macomb County ancestors ... who knows you might just find one. 

So for those of you who are in the Mount Clemens area, PLEASE JOIN US

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library! 

LE

Monday, October 20, 2014

Revision to CNN Schedule for Roots: Our Journeys Home

Apparently, there was an error in the schedule for the CNN's take on genealogy/family history television programming. The two-hour special for "Roots: Our Journey's Home," which wraps up the a week of segments on its various anchors segments, will air on this Tuesday, at 9 p.m. not tonight (Monday.)
 

CNN is on most cable and satellite providers. Check your local provider's channel listing to learn the channel number for CNN. For Comcast in Macomb Township, CNN is on channel 40 or for HD service channel 213.
 

It appears many of the segments (or portions of them) are available for viewing on CNN's website in the video area.
 

Here is the corrected description.
 

TUESDAY 10/21

ROOTS: OUR JOURNEYS HOME – 9 pm ET – CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Michaela Pereira will host a two hour special featuring 12 of the network’s hosts and anchors stories. The special will also include interviews with Anderson Cooper, Michaela Pereira, Erin Burnett and Dr. Sanjay Gupta about what the experience has meant to them personally.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!


LE

Friday, October 10, 2014

CNN adds New Twist to Genealogy/Family History on Television with its project Roots: Our Journeys Home

It appears the news channel CNN is putting a new twist on genealogy/family history programs. Rather than create a stand alone show dedicated to genealogy/family, it is running genealogy/family history segments featuring 13 of the network's prominent hosts and anchors throughout the week on its various shows. The project, one year in the making, is called ... Roots: Our Journeys Home.

It begins on the night of Sunday, October 12 at 9 p.m. with Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown food/travel show and continues throughout the week culminating on Monday, October 20 at 9 p.m. with a two hour special.

CNN is on most cable and satellite providers. Check your local provider's channel listing to learn the channel number for CNN. For Comcast in Macomb Township, CNN is on channel 40 or for HD service channel 213.

Here is the Roots: Our Journeys Home schedule from CNN's blog:

SUNDAY 10/12

Anthony Bourdain – (9 pm ET) This investigation into the puzzling history of the Bourdain’s great, great, great, grandfather, Paraguayan émigré Jean Bourdain, serves as a springboard to his first tour of this South American country. In Paraguay, Bourdain explores both jungle and desert land, a rich culture, and savory local dishes that include Bife Koygua, Bori Bori, and Sopa Paraguaya.

MONDAY 10/13

Michaela Pereira – (6am ET on New Day) Michaela Pereira’s adoption journey began when she was very young—just three-months-old in Canada. Although she “hit the jackpot” with her adoptive family, she also knows that much of what you see in front of you—the color of her skin, the curl of her hair—comes from her biological parents. After a brief search years ago led to closed doors, Michaela embarks on her roots journey again—this time not in pursuit of her birth parents, but for the place that her ancestors came from—in St. James Parish, Jamaica.

Anderson Cooper – (8pm ET on AC360) Many people know Anderson Cooper as having come from one of America’s most famous families – the Vanderbilts. But growing up, Anderson was always drawn to the southern roots of his father, Wyatt Cooper. Anderson travels to Mississippi where his father grew up and discovers ties between the poor farming family and the rich Vanderbilts that existed before his parents ever met.


TUESDAY 10/14

Chris Cuomo – (6 am ET on New Day) The son and brother of two governors of New York, Chris Cuomo thought he knew all there was to know about his roots, but he discovers a mysterious figure, Germana Castaldo, at the heart of it. Chris travels to the bedrock of the Cuomo family in Italy to retrace her steps.

Jake Tapper – (4 pm ET on The Lead) Jake Tapper grew up in Philly, blocks from Independence Hall, steeped in Americana. He was surprised to learn his family members were Colonists. He was even more surprised to learn that, during the Revolutionary War, they were traitors who sided with British and fled to Canada. Jake travels to Canada to unravel the mystery of why his family remained loyal to the Crown, and how that changes his own story.

Erin Burnett – (7 pm ET on Erin Burnett OutFront) After 50 years of living on a farm in Maryland, Erin Burnett’s parents are packing up their memories and moving on. The move prompts Erin to learn more about her roots beyond the home she grew up in and loves so much. Her journey takes her to a remote Scottish island where she uncovers her ancestors' struggle to survive the potato famine, and meets relatives who still call Scotland home.

Don Lemon – (10 pm ET on CNN Tonight) Because of poor record keeping, it’s nearly impossible for descendants of slaves in America to trace their ancestry past 1870. So CNN’s Don Lemon sets off to find his roots and fill the gaps in his family tree. It’s a journey that takes him from a Louisiana plantation to the hub of the transatlantic slave trade in West Africa.

WEDNESDAY 10/15

Christine Romans – (6 am ET on New Day) As a journalist, Christine Romans interviews newsmakers every day. But in her family, the real newsmaker is just an ordinary girl who had the courage to leave a small town in Denmark, and everything she knew, behind to start all over again in America. Christine goes there, to where it all started.

Wolf Blitzer – (5 pm ET on Sit Room) Wolf Blitzer pays a visit to Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust museum. While there, this son of Holocaust survivors discovers his paternal grandparents actually perished in one of the most brutal extermination camps of WWII, Auschwitz. Wolf returns to his roots in Poland: to visit the camp where more than a million Jews were murdered by the Nazis. He travels to his father’s hometown in the neighboring village, where not one Jew lives today. Wolf also looks for any trace of his maternal grandparents – including his namesake Wolf Zylberfuden – a task made more difficult by a Poland completely rebuilt after the war. Wolf then heads to his own hometown of Buffalo, New York, where his parents managed to start a successful new life in America.

Sanjay Gupta – (8 pm ET on AC360) CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, takes his family half-way around the world to uncover his roots. Their trip, from his mother’s tiny village in Pakistan to his father’s hometown just outside Delhi, is full of surprises. And you won’t believe how mom and dad actually met, right here in America. (re-air Saturday 9/18 at 4:30pm ET on Sanjay Gupta MD)

THURSDAY 10/16

Kate Bolduan – (6 am ET on New Day) Kate Bolduan just gave birth to her first child, a daughter, so finding out about her family tree comes at a perfect time. Bolduan grew up in the Midwest, and was surprised to learn that she comes from a long line of glass blowers from a tiny village in Belgium. Pregnant during her journey, Bolduan set off to find out more about the family business, learning her great great grandmother traveled to America while SHE was pregnant, too. And you'll never believe what historic event happened just weeks before she set sail.

FRIDAY 10/17

John Berman – (6 am ET on New Day) Could John Berman be royalty? Is he related to the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza, noted as the Prince of Philosophers? John Berman travels to Amsterdam, the country where his ancestors, the Spinozas, lived for 140 years in search of his “Inner Spinoza”… and the truth.

Fareed Zakaria – (8 pm ET on AC360) Fareed Zakaria takes viewers on a historical journey as he explores his family’s roots and discovers how his personal story intersects with critical moments in history. Fareed’s father, an orphan and self-made man who eventually became a Minister in India’s government, often claimed that he had Central Asian “warrior” ancestry. Given the lack of records in India, Fareed takes a DNA test to see whether his father’s jocular claims can be validated. True to form, Fareed puts what he learns along the way into greater historical context. (re-air Sunday 9/19, 10am ET on Fareed Zakaria GPS)

MONDAY 10/20

ROOTS: OUR JOURNEYS HOME – 9 pm ET – CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Michaela Pereira will host a two hour special featuring 12 of the network’s hosts and anchors stories. The special will also include interviews with Anderson Cooper, Michaela Pereira, Erin Burnett and Dr. Sanjay Gupta about what the experience has meant to them personally.

Beginning Friday, October 10, a sneak peek at Roots will be available on CNN.com. As the journeys unfold on-air, viewers online will be invited to watch and share the segments as well as explore more of each anchor’s story through video extras, exclusive photos and first-person accounts of their individual journeys. They will also be able to compare their habits and hobbies to CNN’s anchors with a new “Which anchor are you?” quiz. Throughout, the Roots experience will extend across on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr using the hashtag #CNNRoots.

See you soon at the Mt Clemens Public Library!

LE

Sunday, October 5, 2014

This Wednesday's Let's Talk...Genelaogy meeting topic is My Tallest Brick Wall and Where do I go from Here?

This Wednesday, October 8, at 7 p.m. in the Genealogy/Local History Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library is MCGG's Let's Talk...Genealogy meeting. The discussion topic of the night is My Tallest Brick Wall and Where Do I Go From Here?

Whether you have a big find or a small find, are not sure where to go next or what to do, or have a problem/wall you could use another view of -- bring them with you Wednesday night. We'll give everyone a turn.


See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

 
LE

Thursday, October 2, 2014

October is National Family History Month! Do Something for your Genealogy!

Worldwide, nationally or locally we observe or commemorate public issues, social causes, heritages/ethnicities, historic events, or noted individuals. Just a day may be selected, occasionally a particular week is designated, but sometimes a whole month is chosen.

October is Family History Month in the United States. You have 31 days to celebrate. Okay, technically just 29 are left but it is up to you how you choose to do so.

Need some ideas? Attend a genealogy event this month. See our Southeast Michigan Genealogy Events Calendar for ideas.

Want to do something for your own research? Plan a short research trip or try some of these ideas (inspired by other designated days) you can do at home.

  • Since the first week of October is Get Organized Week, plan one or two days or an hour each day to organize your genealogy papers.
  • Since October 3 is Techies Day, spend sometime tomorrow organizing the files on your hard drive and backing up your hard drive. Or simply entering into your genealogy program that information you have been meaning to do.
  • Since October is also Computer Learning Month, check out a book or watch a webinar on how to use one of your genealogy-related programs ... or your computer.
  • October 5 is the generally the end of OktoberFest in Germany, try to do some research on a German ancestor if you have one.
  • October 9 is Curious Events Day, try investigating a mystery in your family tree. This day is also Lief Erikson Day, if you have a Norse ancestor research him or her.
  • October 12 is Moment of Frustration Day, re-examine one or more of your "brickwall" ancestors and create a plan to knock down that wall.
  • October 13 is Columbus Day, research a Spanish line if you have it or research an ancestor's emigration/immigration. It is also International Skeptics Day, take another look at those family branches that might be a little shaky.
  • October 18 is International Newspaper Carrier Day, search for your ancestors in the newspaper. Or re-read your newspaper finds to see if you missed something. This day is also Sweetest Day, search again for those missing marriage records.
  • October 19 is Evaluate Your Life Day, in the spirit of this day spend some time re-evaluating your research efforts on a particular problem.
  • October 27 is National Tell a Story Day in Scotland and the U.K., so try writing your memories about a particular relative. Or, write down those stories of your ancestors/family that you heard growing up.

I think you get the idea, just do something genealogy related no matter how small or big.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Pubic Library!

LE

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Reminder: Five Days until Retirement

We just wanted to remind everyone that September 30, 2104 is approaching fast. That is the day that Ancestry.com retires the various websites it owns and the Y-DNA and mtDNA testing results/matches on its website.

The websites that will retire are MyFamily and Mundia. You need to save your data and find an alternate website.

The website Genealogy.com will change to a read-only website for its message boards and a couple other features. 

A couple months ago, the website MyCanvas was actually sold to the printer of the Ancestry.com books. So instead of retiring, that site will now continue with the new owner. (Good news for users of that website.)

The Y-DNA and mtDNA tests results pages will be removed from Ancestry.com. So for anyone out there that had a Y-DNA or mtDNA test done with Ancestry.com, remember you only have until September 29th, 2014 to download your test results and copy your matches. Ancestry.com will retire (delete) all Y-DNA and mtDNA test results and matches from its website on September 30th. Do not wait until the last minute to save your information to your computer. (Please note that AncestryDNA -- the autosomal test -- is not effected by this retirement.)  

See the DNA Frequently Asked Questions page at Ancestry.com for more information. If you purchased a Y-DNA or mtDNA test but did not use it/have it processed, there is a phone number to call and get a refund of the cost of the test and any taxes paid. Shipping costs will not be refunded. 

To download your Y-DNA or mtDNA test results, sign into your Ancestry.com account and go to "Your DNA Home Page." Go to the Y-DNA or mtDNA test page. (Note: I can't see this but it is probably similar to the AncestryDNA test page.) Essentially, for each person you had tested, click on Settings to the right of the tested person's name. Then likely to the right will be a column with Actions, select  "Download Your Raw DNA Data." (Do not select delete this test.) Follow the directions given to download your raw DNA data and then you will have a copy of that test's results on your computer. Repeat this for each test you had done. 

With your results downloaded, you can transfer your raw data to another genealogy/DNA testing company if you choose to do so. Transferring generally costs a little bit less than purchasing a new test. (Note that with a transferred test you will not be able to add/upgrade another type of test to it because the company will only have the raw data your transferred, it will not have the actual DNA sample. To have the person tested for another type of DNA you would have to have a new test kit sent.) 

Now as to your matches/potential matches, you will need to either page by page or individually print these out to paper, print these out as pdf files, or make screen captures of your matches to preserve them for future reference. If you have definite matches, you should likely print/preserve that individual match. 

You can also check the Ancestry.com community forum for DNA for other ideas on how to preserve your matches for the future.

CeCe Moore of the Your Genetic Genealogist blog, mentioned in her June 5, 2014, post a few options. She has a link to FamilyTree DNA's Y-DNA 3rd-Party Transfer options which I have included here. (The page is not found very easily on the FamilyTree DNA website.) I suggest after reading her blog post and reviewing the FamlyTree DNA transfer options, if you have questions about the transfer options at FamilyTree DNA call FamilyTree DNA's customer service and ask to speak to someone regarding which transfer option is best for you.

See you soon at the Mt Clemens Public Library! 

LE

MCGG Resource Development Session is tomorrow Friday, September 26

On Friday, September 26, at 1:00 pm in the auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, we are holding one of our MCGG Resource Development Sessions.

What is a Resource Development Session? It is where those of us who want to contribute back index circuit court and other Macomb County records to create databases to help other researchers. It does not matter if you have Macomb County ancestors or not. It's a nice way to help others; learn what is involved in an indexing projects; and if you do have Macomb County ancestors ... who knows you might just find one. 

So for those of you who are in the Mount Clemens area, PLEASE JOIN US

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library! 

LE

Monday, September 22, 2014

Reminder: Finding Your Roots Season Two Begins Tomorrow Night, Tuesday Sept. 23

Season Two of Finding Your Roots will premiere tomorrow, Tuesday, September 23, 2014, on your local PBS station at 8 p.m. EDT. This is the genealogy television show headed by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

According to CeCe Moore's blog site, Your Genetic Genealogist, "The season will include interviews with Ben Affleck, Sally Field, Derek Jeter, Deepak Chopra, Tina Fey, Valerie Jarrett, Carole King, Tony Kushner, Ken Burns, Angela Bassett, Alan Dershowitz, Ming Tsai, Aaron Sanchez, Tom Colicchio, Rebecca Lobo, Nas Jones, Billie Jean King, Stephen King, Courtney Vance and several others."

Everyone has different television delivery/provider systems. So listed here are a few for your convenience. (Hopefully, none of the providers shifted their channels around since last September.) If yours is not listed below, use your television provider's schedule system or PBS Detroit's schedule system to find the PBS channel number on your provider system and to learn when the show will be re-aired again. (On PBS Detroit's schedule system you can customize the listing to your service provider by edit or change provider so the schedule generated reflects your television provider's channels and schedule.)

Digital Over-the-Air box: 
September 30, 9 p.m. on channel 56.1
October 1, 12 a.m. on channel 56.2
October 1, 2:30 a.m. on channel 56.1
October 1, 4 a.m. on channel 56.2
October 4, 8 a.m. on channel 56.2
October 4, 10 a.m. on channel 56.2

Comcast: St Clair Shores (the same channels are used in Macomb Twp.)
September 30, 9 p.m. on channel 6, channel 240 HD, channel 1006 HD
October 1, 12 a.m. on channel 287,
October 1, 2:30 a.m. on channel 6, channel 240 HD, channel 1006 HD
October 1, 4 a.m. on channel 287
October 4, 8 a.m. on channel 287
October 4, 10 a.m. on channel 287

Wide Open West: Detroit
September 30, 9 p.m. on channel 3, channel 205 HD
October 1, 2:30 a.m. on channel 3, channel 205 HD
October 5, 3:30 a.m. on channel 3, channel 205 HD

See You Soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

Monday, September 8, 2014

New Free Webinars FamilySearch, Many Begin This Week

If you have not been checking up on the FamilySearch Blog, you may not know that the Family History Library is offering variety of free webinars. A lot are scheduled for this week.

You can learn about Probate Records, Irish Research (a lot about Irish Research), Scot-Irish Research, Danish Research, US Military Records, German Records, Norwegian Parish Registers, and Reading Spanish Handwriting.

The webinars are held through Adobe Connect Meeting and are actually classes taught at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. It appears pre-registration is not required. There is no indication if there is a limit on how many online viewers can attend.

The three links above take you to the the blog announcements for the webinars covering that topic. The link below is to the overall schedule list. From the overall schedule list, click on the class topic of interest to find the link to join that webinar and to find the handout associated with that class. (Each handout is likely placed online nearer to when the class is scheduled to start. It is recommended that you print the handout prior to the meeting start time.) There is also log-in information instructions (how to name yourself) at the class pages.  

Remember class start times are given in Mountain Time, so for our Eastern Time ADD 2 hours. (For example, a 10 am MT class actually starts at 12 pm (noon) ET.)

If you've never used Adobe Connect Meeting, there is a test link and informational overview link (though this link is kind of confusing.) From what I have seen and read, attendees do not need to install the Adobe Connect Add On as that is primarily for hosts and administers.

To find the complete class schedule list, see the Family History Library Wiki page, and look for the Live Online Class Schedule. There are a variety of classes scheduled through December.

One thing to note: I have not found any mention that recordings of these webinars will be available at either the FamilySearch Learning Center or the FamilySearch YouTube Channel. I'll let you know when I can confirm that they will or will not be posted at a later time. So just in case, if you want to see a class you better attend the class.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

This Wednesday's Let's Talk...Genealogy meeting topic is DNA and Genealogy: Revisited

This Wednesday, September 10, at 7 p.m. in the Genealogy/Local History Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library is MCGG's Let's Talk...Genealogy meeting. The discussion topic of the night is DNA and Genealogy: Revisited.

There have been changes in the DNA marketplace since our first meeting on DNA last year. We'll review the different tests, who sells what, take a look at the different tools of each company, and discuss the benefits of DNA testing.

If you had a DNA test done with any company, please consider bringing your results. By this I mean your ethnicity pie/chart or your paternal and/or maternal haplogroup result.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

 
LE

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Today August 30, 2014 is the First Anniversary of this Blog

We've made it! Today is the first anniversary of this blog.

There have been 65 posts (66 if you count this one) and a lot of information conveyed this past year.

There is more to come so keep reading.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

Friday, August 29, 2014

Have Ancestry.com's Y-DNA or mtDNA Tests? Make Sure You Download Your Results and Data Before it is Deleted

For anyone out there that had a Y-DNA or mtDNA test done with Ancestry.com, remember you only have until September 30th, 2014 (it was September 5th) to download your test results and copy your matches.

Ancestry.com will retire (delete) all Y-DNA and mtDNA test results and matches from its website on September 30th. Do not wait until the last minute to save your information to your computer. (Please note that AncestryDNA -- the autosomal test -- is not effected by this retirement.) 

See the DNA Frequently Asked Questions page at Ancestry.com for more information. If you purchased a Y-DNA or mtDNA test but did not use it/have it processed, there is a phone number to call and get a refund of the cost of the test and any taxes paid. Shipping costs will not be refunded.

To download your Y-DNA or mtDNA test results, sign into your Ancestry.com account and go to "Your DNA Home Page." Go to the Y-DNA or mtDNA test page. (Note: I can't see this but it is probably similar to the AncestryDNA test page.) Essentially, for each person you had tested, click on Settings to the right of the tested person's name. Then likely to the right will be a column with Actions, select  "Download Your Raw DNA Data." (Do not select delete this test.) Follow the directions given to download your raw DNA data and then you will have a copy of that test's results on your computer. Repeat this for each test you had done.

With your results downloaded, you can transfer your raw data to another genealogy/DNA testing company if you choose to do so. Transferring generally costs a little bit less than purchasing a new test. (Note that with a transferred test you will not be able to add/upgrade another type of test to it because the company will only have the raw data your transferred, it will not have the actual DNA sample. To have the person tested for another type of DNA you would have to have a new test kit sent.)

Now as to your matches/potential matches, you will need to either page by page or individually print these out to paper, print these out as pdf files, or make screen captures of your matches to preserve them for future reference. If you have definite matches, you should likely print/preserve that individual match.

You can also check the Ancestry.com community forum for DNA for other ideas on how to preserve your matches for the future.

Also remember that Ancestry.com owned websites, MyFamily and Mundia (English) are also retiring on September 30th. The website Genealogy.com is being retired too but some of it will be changed to a read-only website (i.e. community message boards). Recently the website, MyCanvas, has been sold and will change hands instead of retire.

See you soon at the Mt Clemens Public Library!

LE

Thursday, August 28, 2014

FamilyTree DNA has End of Summer Y-DNA Sale until September 3

All Y-DNA tests and upgrades are on sale for a limited time at FamilyTree DNA. The sale runs until September 3, 2014 (likely 11:59 p.m. CDT).

Here is a run down of the savings on the various Y-DNA tests.

Y37 test (37 markers) regularly $169, on sale $129
Y67 test (67 markers) regularly $268, on sale $199
Y111 (111 markers) regularly $359, on sale $279
Big Y regularly $595, on sale $495

FamilyFinder + Y37 combined tests regularly $268, on sale $228
FamilyFinder + Y67 combined tests regularly $367, on sale $298
Comprehensive Genome (FamilyFinder/Y67/full mtDNA) combined test regularly $566, on sale $497
[Note: for the combo packages, only the Y-DNA portion is on sale. I checked this with a calculator. So you could just order the Y-DNA test itself rather than a combined test and wait for a sale on the FamilyFinder (autosomal) test and then upgrade your Y-DNA test to add FamilyFinder to it.]
 
Or upgrade a Y-DNA test already taken with FamilyTree DNA to add more markers to your test.
Upgrade a Y12 test to Y37 (12 markers to 37 markers) regularly $99, on sale $70
Upgrade a Y12 test to Y67 regularly $189, on sale $149
Upgrade a Y12 test to Y111 regularly $339, on sale $239
Upgrade a Y25 test to Y37 regularly $49, on sale $35
Upgrade a Y25 test to Y67 regularly $148, on sale $114
Upgrade a Y25 test to Y111 regularly $249, on sale $209
Upgrade a Y37 test to Y67 regularly $99, on sale $79
Upgrade a Y37 test to Y111 regularly $220, on sale $179
Upgrade a Y67 test to Y111 regularly $129, on sale $109

Sorry everyone, I have not found any coupon codes for a discount on the shipping costs that FamilyTree DNA charges.

To get an idea of previous sale prices from each of the three different Genealogy/DNA companies and their various tests, check out a post on the Genealogy Junkie blog site. This Genealogy Junkie post on DNA Test Sales is generally kept up-to-date -- i.e. it now includes this current sale. This listing gives you a good idea of what is a good sale price for a test and approximately when a sale might occur.

Remember, we will be revisiting the topic of DNA and Genealogy at our September meeting of Let's Talk...Genealogy. 

See you soon at the Mt Clemens Public Library!

LE

Limited Time: Ancestry.com is giving Free Access to the Newly added databases of its Global Collections

Ancestry.com is giving free access to 1 billion new records from 67 countries until September 1 (midnight).

Obtain access through the special portal (you may need to scroll down to see it) on the main Ancestry.com page when you are not signed in.

From the map below the special portal search engine, you can see which 43 new countries have been added (orange) and what other countries have newly added databases (green.) From what we can figure out, it is these databases that are included in the free access.
Unfortunately, I have not found a list of which specific databases make up this group.

Good Luck Searching!

LE

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

MyCanvas Website Will Not Be Retired -- It is Changing Hands Instead

Ancestry.com announced today that its website, MyCanvas, will not be retired after all rather it will now be part of Alexander's.

The announcement was made on Ancestry.com's Facebook page and blog page.


Projects at MyCanvas will be accessible thru Ancestry.com until the website is transitioned next year to Alexander's. Alexander's is the printer that prints MyCanvas projects.

This is good news for any MyCanvas user.

LE

Saturday, August 9, 2014

AncestryDNA Test On Sale Until August 27

Ancestry.com is having a sale on its AncestryDNA (autosomal) test this month. The test is now $79 (20 percent off the normal $99 price) until August 27 at 11:59 EDT. Autosomal tests are for males and females -- it tests what you inherit from both biological parents.

Remember, you can get free DNA shipping on AncestryDNA tests by using the code FREESHIPDNA which is valid until April 1, 2015. (The code is listed on RetailMeNot but you do not have to go to that website to get the code. It is as you see above, all capital letters with no spaces.)

LE

Monday, July 21, 2014

Who Do You Think You ARE? -- New Season Starts on Wednesday

Get Ready! Grab your favorite snack or your laptop and favorite genealogy website,  Season Five of "Who Do You Think You Are? begins this Wednesday, July 23, 2014, at 9 p.m. EDT on The Learning Channel (TLC).

Actor Cynthia Nixon is the celebrity featured in episode one. It appears she visited Missouri on her adventure.

You can see a very short preview of the Cynthia Nixon episode on the show's TLC website page. In addition, the episodes are usually available on the TLC website page sometime after they have aired. So if you don't have TLC you should be able to watch the show on your computer over the internet.

Everyone has different television delivery/provider systems. Use your television provider's schedule system to find the TLC channel number on your provider system and to learn when the show will be re-aired again. 

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library! 

LE

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Ancestry.com AncestryDNA $49 Sale Has Expired Now, The Price is Back to $99

Sorry Everyone!

It appears Ancestry.com's low-key sale of an AncestryDNA test for $49 has expired today. The price of an AncestryDNA test is back to the regular price of $99.

If you decided to go with AncestryDNA but missed the sale, just check the that website page often to see if another low-key (not well-publicized) sale occurs. Or, if you decided on one of the other companies, check their websites often for sales as well.

Hopefully, I can get the news of the next DNA sale, from any of the companies, out to sooner.

See you soon at Mt Clemens Public Library!

LE

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Ancestry.com AncestryDNA $49 -- Now Half-price But for How Long?

Due to some errant type mysteriously appearing on the original posting of this entry dated July 15, 2014 at 6:45 p.m. EDT,  I have redone this post a couple times and updated an older post which should hopefully eliminate the problem. Sorry for any confusion especially if you are subscribed by email to this blog. There was no other way to fix this problem.
 

Hey Everyone!
 

If you have been debating about taking an Autosomal DNA test, this just might sway you. 

At least since Friday, July 11th, Ancestry.com has lowered the price of its autosomal AncestryDNA test from the normal $99 to just $49. That is half price!
 

I know you may have concerns since they just got out of the Y-DNA and mtDNA marketplace but for this price and all the family trees in one place you might want to consider it.
 

But it seems Ancestry.com is not advertising this price like it does with a normal sale. Though today there was a post on Ancestry.com's blog about reunions and DNA tests with a link to the hard to find webpage -- the only place you can access the sale price -- there was not one word about the lower price in the blog article. 

Here is a personal blog that has the details on the sale, how to find the specific webpage and a reminder of the same coupon code for free DNA shipping that we mentioned last month.
 

If you are signed into your Ancestry.com account, it seems you will not see the sale price. You need to sign out prior to going to the webpage for the sale.
 

A couple other blog sites have mentioned a different coupon code -- socialdna -- that supposedly brought the cost down to $46.70 for the test and standard shipping.
 

Finally, there is no mention of how long this lower price will last. Perhaps this low-key sale is test of some kind for Ancestry.com to assess its situation after the company's June retirement announcement.
 

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!
 

LE

Ancestry extends Retirement Date to September 30, 2014

To correct an mysterious text problem, I had to update this post original made on Tuesday, July1, 2014 at 1:58 p.m. EDT. Sorry for any confusion.

Ancestry.com made the following announcement about two (or now three) hours ago on its Facebook and Blog page.

UPDATE July 1, 2014: Due to recent site issues, we will be extending the period that MyFamily, MyCanvas, Genealogy.com, Mundia, and the Y-DNA and mtDNA websites will be available. These sites will now retire on September 30, 2014. An email will be sent to all customers accordingly.

The original retirement date was September 5, 2014, but the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack and Ancestry.com's recovery from that experience resulted in this change.

I believe most of websites owned by Ancestry.com are now up and running.

In addition, for those affected by the Y-DNA retirement, did you that you can transfer your Y-DNA results to FamilyTree DNA?

CeCe Moore of the Your Genetic Genealogist blog, mentioned in her June 5, 2014, post a few options. She has a link to FamilyTree DNA's Y-DNA 3rd-Party Transfer options which I have included here. (The page is not found very easily on the FamilyTree DNA website.) I suggest after reading her blog post and reviewing the FamlyTree DNA transfer options, if you have questions about the transfer options at FamilyTree DNA call FamilyTree DNA's customer service and ask to speak to someone regarding which transfer option is best for you.

I have not seen anything yet if there is an mtDNA transfer option with any DNA company.

If you purchased a Y-DNA or mtDNA test from Ancestry.com and it has not been processed (either your didn't take the sample yet OR you took it, sent it in but its processing was not finished at the time of the announcement), you can get a refund by calling the phone number found under "What if I recently mailed in my sample to be processed?"given in the LegacyDNA retirement FAQ.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

Monday, July 14, 2014

The Macomb County Obituary Index was Updated Today

The Macomb County Obituary Index was updated today on the Mount Clemens Public Library website adding 7698 new (& old) records. http://www.mtclib.org/search/obitindex.php

Volunteers make it happen -- Thanks for the hard work!

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

Webinar on African-American Research this Wednesday, July 16, 2014

At 2 p.m. E.D.T. this Wednesday, July 16th, Legacy Family Tree's Legacy Webinars is hosting Angela Walton-Raji who will be presenting a webinar titled, "When Freedom Came -- Documenting the Family's Freedom Story."

The webinar description says, "Researching the history of African American families can be complicated. With families once enslaved, the task involves tracing the family back in public records, identifying the last known slave holder, and then researching the slaveholder’s history to continue to document the family. However, one major story is often overlooked. The story of how freedom came to the family is the one story untold. This webinar will illustrate methods of discovering that missing story, and how to find clues when the ancestors left no stories behind."

To view this free webinar live on Wednesday, you must pre-register. Approximately 1,000 viewers can see the webinar live. Afterwards, the webinar will be free to view for non-subscription members for usually about 7 days. The organizers are good about posting the date for the last day for viewing.

Legacy Webinars is a subscription service (pay) which gives subscription members access to the archived webinars and their corresponding handouts 24 hours/7 days a week. Those who do not pay for a subscription can view the webinars live or for a short time (usually 7 days) after the live broadcast but non-subscribers do not have access to the handouts.

Online webinars are great learning tools for genealogists. If you have African-American ancestry, this sounds like a good webinar to attend either live or during the free-view period. If you are a genealogy volunteer or thinking about becoming a genealogy volunteer, this would be a good way to learn about a topic you may not be familiar with.

See you soon at the Mount Clemens Public Library!

LE

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Season Five of Who Do You Think You Are? begins July 23, 2014

Many of you have probably heard that Season Five of "Who Do You Think You Are? begins Wednesday, July 23, 2014, at 9 p.m. EDT on The Learning Channel (TLC). But in case you have not, here are the details.

There will be just six episodes for this season, the second season on TLC. The celebrities featured are: Cynthia Nixon (episode one), Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Rachel McAdams and her sister, Kayleen McAdams, Lauren Graham, Valerie Bertinelli, and Kelsey Grammer.

There is a very short preview of the Cynthia Nixon episode on the show's TLC website page.

In addtion, TLC has acquired 10 episodes from the show's previous seasons on NBC. The episodes feature Matthew Broderick, Lisa Kudrow, Rob Lowe, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brooke Shields, Vanessa Williams and Rita Wilson.

Everyone has different television delivery/provider systems. Use your television provider's schedule system to find the TLC channel number on your provider system and to learn when the show will be re-aired again.

Also, the episodes are usually available on the TLC website page sometime after they have aired. So if you don't have TLC you should be able to watch the show on your computer over the internet.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE