It is Time to Vote! Tweet Any Tweet with #DigUtica from Jan. 22 to Jan. 27

This is the Tweeting on Twitter voting time period. Any tweet including the hashtag #DigUtica between January 22 and January 27 adds one point to support digitizing The Utica Sentinel. in the 2018 Digital Michigan Newspaper Grant Program.

• Tweet anything with the hashtag "#DigUtica" between January 22 and January 27
• The content of the tweet does not matter, as long as the message is unique and includes the hashtag.
• Tweet as many times as you wish.

Don't have a Twitter account? It is easy to set one up. Don't have a smart phone? That is okay because you can tweet from your computer from the Twitter website. The Macomb County Genealogy Group has put together a How to Twitter Vote handout that explains how to setup an account and a summary of the contest. There are also copies of this handout in the Mount Clemens Public Library's Local History and Genealogy Room.

#DigUtica

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Mount Clemens Public Library Update: Progress Wi-Fi Restored Today

MCGG was informed that Mount Clemens Public Library's Wi-Fi was restored today, Jan. 22, which means The Local History and Genealogy Room is fully up and running again.

Work continues on other areas that were damaged by the burst water pipe.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Statewide Contest to Digitize Newspapers: The Utica Sentinel is a Finalist Again! Let's Try to Win for 2018

If you recall, last year one of our local historical newspapers, The Utica Sentinel, was a finalist in the 2017 Digital Michigan Newspaper Grant Program. It came in second. Well, second is not good enough so The Sterling Heights Public Library and the Utica Historical Commission decided to try again.

Thankfully, The Utica Sentinel was chosen again as one of the five finalist for the 2018 Digital Michigan Newspaper Grant Program. Now it is up to us in the community to vote The Utica Sentinel all the way to first place for 2018!

What can the community do to show their support for The Utica Sentinel? VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!! Vote as often as you can because every vote counts. How?

January 15 to January 20 -- Postcards (10 points each)
This is the postcard voting time period. All mailed postcards must be postmarked between January 15 and January 20.

Send any pre-made postcard with a Michigan theme to:

• Clarke Historical Library
  250 E. Preston St.
  Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859
  
• All pre-made cards must have "#DigUtica" written somewhere on the card.
• You can pickup pre-addressed Upton House cards at the library for free, but you must use your own stamp(s).

Send any hand-drawn postcard with a Michigan theme to:

• Draw anything with a Michigan theme on a blank postcard.
• All hand-drawn cards must have "#DigUtica" written somewhere on the card.
• If mailing the card yourself, send to the same address listed above.

The Sterling Heights Public Library held a Creative Coloring event on Saturday, January 13 from 2-4pm. Blank postcards were provided at the event and the library planned to send all hand-drawn cards in bulk on January 15.



January 22 to January 27 -- Tweets (1 point each)
This is the tweeting on Twitter voting time period. Any tweet including the hashtag #DigUtica between January 22 and January 27 adds one point to support digitizing The Utica Sentinel.

• Tweet anything with the hashtag "#DigUtica" between January 22 and January 27
• The content of the tweet does not matter, as long as the message is unique and includes the hashtag.
• Tweet as many times as you wish.

Don't have a Twitter account? It is easy to set one up. Don't have a smart phone? That is okay you can tweet from your computer from the Twitter website. The Macomb County Genealogy Group has put together a How to Twitter Vote handout that explains how to setup an account and a summary of the contest. There are also copies of this handout in the Mount Clemens Public Library's Local History and Genealogy Room.

#DigUtica

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Catchup: A Variety of Genealogy Information for You

After sort of taking a holiday break from posting on the blog we have a variety of things in the genealogy world on which to catch everyone up.

FamilySearch Now Requires Login
As of December 13, 2017, FamilySearch.org now requires the use of a username to view records and images on its website. Do not worry it is still a free website. The login requirement is part of assuring its various partners "its content is offered in a safe and secure online environment." If you do not have a free FamilySearch username login account it is easy to create one. If you already have one but do not recall the password or the username, there is a recovery service which can be found by scrolling down the homepage.

2018 Genealogy Webinar Schedules Released by a Variety of Providers
There are lots of genealogy learning opportunities via webinars -- a live presentation you view using services on your computer/device. Many of these webinars are free to view live. If you want to watch one later it may require a membership fee. 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 has released its 2018 webinar schedule. (The website looks/acts more like a tablet/smartphone app.) Click on the Upcoming Webinars to see the future webinars listed by month but you'll have to click on each webinar to learn more and to register. Or, click the Register for Multiple Webinars at Once to see the future webinars in one list. (Click the top check box to automatically check all webinars at one time.)

Legacy Family Tree webinars are mostly held at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays though there are a few Friday afternoon and Wednesday evening webinars. They are free to view live and for almost a week afterwards at which time they become accessible to webinar subscribers only. (Some archived webinars remain free for all to view.) Handouts are available only to webinar subscribers/members. Legacy webinar membership is currently $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. 

The Southern California Genealogical Society (SCGS) has released its 2018 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 $40/year and includes other benefits. 

The Illinois State Genealogical Society has released its 2018 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. 

The Wisconsin State Genealogical Society has released its 2018 webinar schedule. 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 $35/year. 

The Minnesota Genealogical Society also has hosted webinars. The society lists its webinars on its Events page. Part of the 2018 schedule has been announced. The webinars are usually held on the first Wednesday of the month at 8 p.m. ET and are free to live viewers and handouts are included. After the live webinar, only MGS members can view the archived webinars. MGS membership is $40/year. 

The Florida State Genealogical Society also hosts webinars. The society announces its webinars on its upcoming webinars page. The webinars are held the third Thursday of the month at 8 p.m. ET and are free to live viewers. Handouts are usually for members only. After the live webinar, only FSGS members can view the archived webinars. FSGS membership is $25/year. 

The Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City, Utah, began broadcasting the genealogy classes held in the library about three years ago. Information about these free webinars are located at the FHL's page on FamilySearch. Only classes through February 2018 have been listed so check back often. (There are PDFs listing the webinars for January 2018 and February 2018.) Sometimes additional webinars are added to the current month. Most of these webinars include handouts. Previously recorded webinars are listed under Past Webinars. (Scroll down the page to see them.) You may find some 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.

RootsTech 2018 Right Around the Corner
Another webinar learning opportunity is the live-broadcast of selected sessions from the RootsTech 2018 conference held February 28 - March 3, 2108, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Live-Stream sessions will be announced a few weeks before the conference.

We will add another Assorted Catchup ... post soon.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Mount Clemens Public Library Opened Friday, Jan, 12, with Limited Services

Our favorite library, Mount Clemens Public Library, was able to open last Friday, January 12, with limited services.

At this time the library still has NO phones, fax, Wi-Fi, public internet terminals or elevator service. But they do have a couple of staff workstations up so library materials can be checked in and out.

Please have patience and understanding as they continue repair and recovery efforts from the burst water pipe.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

ATTENTION: MCGG Let's Talk...Genealogy Wednesday and MCGG Friday Meetings are BOTH Cancelled for This Week

Due to events beyond our control, the MCGG Let's Talk...Genealogy Wednesday night meeting and the MCGG Friday afternoon meeting are both cancelled this week.
 
Yesterday morning it was discovered that a water pipe had burst at our favorite library, Mount Clemens Public Library. None of the collections upstairs were damaged but there is a lot of damage to the electrical and downstairs as well as part of the staff workroom upstairs. Restoration services are hard at work cleaning up the damage but coordination of repairs will take a little time. Insurance will cover the damage.

So to be specific, our cancelled meetings this week are:

• Wednesday, Jan 10, 7 p.m. Let's Talk...Genealogy meeting
• Friday, Jan 12, 1 p.m. MCGG Genealogy Open House

The library hopes to reopen Friday on a limited basis upstairs only.

Our next scheduled meetings are:

• Friday, Jan 26, 1 p.m. Resource Development Session
• Friday, Feb 9, 1 p.m. Naturalization Rules, Records & Repositories
• Wed., Feb 14, 7 p.m. FamilySearch.org Tips and Tricks

If anything changes with these meetings we will let you know. We will also keep you updated on the library's status, or you can check the library's FaceBook page.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

NEHGS's AmericanAncestors.org Offers Free Access Jan 3 to Jan 10, 2018

AmericanAncestors.org website is offering free access to all its databases from Jan. 3 until Jan. 10, 2018. There's about a billion records waiting for you!

To access the free databases at the New England Historic Genealogical Society's website simply create a free guest user account if you do not already have one. If you are an NEGHS member, simply sign into your account. 

Registered guest users get access to a limited suite of databases; access to webinars, how-to videos and downloads; and can make purchases from the online store. Did you know that guest users also get free access to other new databases for the first 30 days that database is online? There are lots of great reasons to register as a guest user or become a member of the NEHGS society.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library! 
LE

Next Week is the MCGG Open House at Mount Clemens Public Library

Next week on Friday, January 12, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. the Macomb County Genealogy Group (MCGG) will hold a Genealogy Open House in the Local History and Genealogy Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library.

Come learn about this great collection. Take a tour upstairs and down. Watch demonstrations on how to use the scanning equipment. Learn tips for using the local database computer.

Get help with your research and socialize with other family historians/genealogists too. If you have a laptop feel free to bring it to use the library's in-house resources and pick up some tips and tricks.

MCGG members and anyone who is curious about researching their family tree are welcome to attend.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library! 
LE

Heads Up Everyone: Next Week is 2018's First Let's Talk...Genealogy Meeting

We hope everyone had a safe, happy New Year and everyone is ready for some genealogy.

Next Wednesday, January 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. We kick off the new year (2018) with the discussion topic of the night ... Where Do I Go From Here? 

Bring your research questions, brick walls, or new finds to share with the group. We'll give everyone a turn.

New attendees are always welcome. 

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library! 
LE