Who Do You Think You Are? Summer Seaon on The Learning Channel (TLC)

Did you know that we are getting a Summer season of the genealogy television show, Who Do You Think You Are?

The Summer season of Who Do You Think You Are? starts this Sunday, July 26 at 9 p.m. EDT on the cable television channel, The Learning Channel aka TLC.

Celebrity guests announced so far for this season are: Bryan Cranston, Ginnifer Goodwin, Tom Bergeron, and Alfre Woodard. 

Also, it was revealed that J. K. Rowling's episode from the British version of the show will also air as part of this Summer season. (I think someone is listening to the viewers about what they'd like to see.)

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

Back to School Sales = Savings on Office Supplies and Tech for Genealogists

Note: This was originally posted at 4:59 p.m., July 22. The author now realizes that it is Wednesday not Tuesday and hopes to get back on track as to what is the current day of the week.
Tuesday's Tip 
Back to School Sales on school supplies are not just for kids!
 
Anyone who uses a lot of common office supplies should keep their eyes and ears open for some extreme savings that are only around this time year for certain supplies. So be smart and pay attention to those Back to School Sales so you can partake of the savings too.

What would interest a genealogist? The first things that come to mind are USB drives (large sizes at great prices and small sizes at even better prices), pens, pencils, pencil lead (for those mechanical pencils), highlighters, file folders or pocket folders, index cards for those that like old school ways, plastic file boxes (keep that water damage away), sticky notes, binders, paper, computer accessories, etc.

Yes, for some things it is best to make sure you get acid-free versions, but that can get expensive and sometimes compromises must be made. Note acid-free copier/printer paper is easier to find nowadays.

Also, at about this time of year (July/August/September) computer manufacturers are about to release their new models so good to great prices can often be found on this past year's models. Just remember to get as large of hard drive, as much memory as you are able to afford, and keep an eye on processor speed/power. There are other factors to consider when buying a computer -- these are three key ones.

May you find the deals on what you need, not on what you don't need.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Mt Clemens Public Library Receives Proclamation from Governor and Donation from MCGG

Don Worrell (left) accepts the proclamation.

Today was the Mount Clemens Public Library's 150th Birthday Fun Fest. 

It was hot, it was fun and during the event our favorite library received two things. First, a proclamation from the state governor recognizing the library's 150th year was presented to Don Worrell, library director. And then a large donation from the Macomb County Genealogy Group to support the library's local history and genealogy room was presented to Don for the library by Ann Faulkner of MCGG. Thank you MCGG members for making this donation possible.

For those that could not attend today, here are just a few pictures from today.

There was live music ...

... a fire engine (with hats) and face painting for the kids ...

... lots of cake and food ...

... our Ann Faulkner surprising Don Worrell with our gift ..

... and we think a good time was had by all.

Almost didn't recognize our favorite assistant library director, Debbie.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

#ThursdayThrowback ... Our Favorite Library Celebrates its 150th Birthday Year!

A postcard of MCPL's former building from the digital archive.

Did you realize that Mount Clemens Public Library is celebrating its 150th Anniversary this year?

Well, now you do.

This Saturday, July 18th, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. the library is hosting a 150th Birthday Fun Fest. The free outdoor event will feature food, activities for children, a fire department apparatus display and live music by Dr. Pocket.  Everyone is welcome to join in the festivities.

Visit the library's very own blog to learn more about the history of Mount Clemens Public Library.

And to see more images of Mt. Clemens Public Library through the years, visit the Suburban Library Cooperative Digital Media Archive. Once at the media archive, do an advanced search with library in the all these words filter and mount clemens in the exact phrase filter. Or search for anything else local like people and places -- you won't know what is there until you search.

So Happy Birthday to our favorite library and ... #ThrowbackThursday

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

#ThursdayThrowback ... This Time We Visit 1975 for Some Tombstone Reading

A photo from the MCGG scrapbooks.

Here's another contribution to  #ThrowbackThursday.

The time was the Summer of 1975. And MCGG members were busy reading the tombstones in Clinton Grove Cemetery located on Cass Avenue. Today's photo is of MCGG members Ruth Donaldson and Barbara Newberry reading one of those tombstones.

This tombstone reading project was a large undertaking. The result was the Index to Clinton Grove Cemetery of Mount Clemens, Michigan, and Record of Burials in Clinton Grove Cemetery of Mount Clemens, Michigan, published in 1977. Originally the end result was located in a big black 3-ring binder on the shelves of Mount Clemens Public Library's Genealogy and Local History Room. Many years later, the pages of that three-ring binder were bound into several hard cover books with dark green covers. And many years after that, the names in the book were added to the online Macomb County Cemetery Index.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Ancestry.com Adds Sale on AncestryDNA for Independence Day Holiday

Ancestry.com snuck in a DNA sale for the Independence Day Holiday. Until 11:59 p.m. ET on July 6, 2105, the AncestryDNA (autosomal) test is on sale for $79. That is a 20 percent savings off the regular price of $99. Shipping and taxes are extra which are usually just under $10.

Some people have reported that the FREESHIPDNA coupon code worked for them but others have said it didn't. It doesn't hurt to try.

This is a good sale price. Only once before (last year) have we seen the sale price lower than this.

Doing an AncestryDNA test gets you into a large pool of potential matches and most are interested in genealogy. Be aware that Ancestry.com does not provide any tools for you to utilize and analyze your matches, other than user connected trees. 

But did you know that you could also download your AncestryDNA test data and transfer it to FamilyTreeDNA's Autosomal Transfer? The autosomal DNA transfer is free to see your top 20 matches. To unlock the transfer and have full access to all your matches and features, the cost is just $39. So if you get the AncestryDNA test on sale and unlock the transferred data, for just a little more than the regular price of one test you are now in two pools of potential matches -- Ancestry and FamilyTreeDNA.

Please note that FamilyTree DNA is the only DNA company that accepts data transfers from other companies that utilize the same test chip (AncestryDNA and certain older 23andME tests. Also, FamilyTreeDNA is the only company doing Y-DNA and mtDNA testing. Adding these tests to a transfer would require a separate swab test since no actual physical DNA is transferred between companies with an autosomal transfer.
 
I think these are the major sales/free access offers for the Independence Day Holiday. 

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library! 
 LE

It's July 1st -- Happy Canada Day!

Just so everyone knows, I did not forget that today, July 1st, is Canada Day!

MCGG Members have ancestors from all over the world. So Happy Canada Day to our neighbors, friends and family to the north and east of us.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Ancestry.com has Free Access to 13 Colonies databases in Honor of July 4th

It is a little hard to find but according to its FaceBook page, Ancestry.com is giving free access to birth, marriage, death and divorce records from the original 13 colonies of the United States including its just released Virginia vital records collection. The free period runs from July 1 to July 5, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

The access point to get to the free access is listed on Ancestry's Facebook page. Here is the full list of what is available during the free access to the 13 Colonies.

To view the record results found from your search, you do need to register your email. It says a username and password will be emailed to you for free access. I believe this is different from the free trial membership method that usually requires a credit card.

Good Luck Hunting Everyone! And Happy Fourth of July aka Independence Day!

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

In Honor of July 4th Fold3 Offers Free Access to Revolutionary War Collection

The subscription history/genealogy website Fold3 is granting free access from July 1 through July 15 to Revolutionary War Documents.

The entire Revolutionary War Collection is included in this free access.

According to the Fold3 website, "Explore millions of American Revolutionary War documents that are found nowhere else on the Internet. Discover details about individual soldiers, read letters penned by the Founding Fathers, view documents from The Continental Congress and more."

From past experience please note that to download or print a document/image you may need to sign in with either your membership account (if you have one) or create a free user account. I could find no mention of needing to do this but I know it is the case when accessing the free War of 1812 pension records.

Good Luck Hunting Everyone! And Happy Fourth of July aka Independence Day!

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

In Honor of the Fourth of July NEHGS Offers Free Access to Several Databases for The Great Migration Project

NEHGS's Website

Got really early immigrants to America? Like in Early Colonial, founding of our nation times before we even thought of being a separate nation? Yea? Then set aside some time this week for some online research for those lines.

The New England Historical Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is granting free access from July 1 through July 8 to all online searchable databases related to The Great Migration Project. You just need to register as a Guest User to the NEHGS's website if you are not already a registered guest user or current NEHGS member with access to NEHGS's AmericanAncestors.org website.

These are the databases available for free research during this week.

Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to N.E. 1620-1633, vols. I-III
Great Migration Newsletter, v. 1-20
Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume I, A-B
Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C-F
Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume III, G-H
Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume IV, I-L
Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume V, M-P
Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume VI, R-S
Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume VII, T-Y
Search the Entire Great Migration Study Project

According to the NEHGS website, "The authoritative study of all immigrants to New England, 1620–1640 — the Great Migration Study Project — is your best source for finding and documenting early American ancestors." Being a registered user of the website also gets you access to a few other databases on the society's website.

Good Luck Hunting Everyone! And Happy Fourth of July aka Independence Day!

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE