This Friday's MCGG Meeting Topic is: World War I -- Macomb County

This Friday, February 1, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, Beverly Bishop will present WWI - Macomb County.

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

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

RootsTech 2019 Conference App Available; Handouts are Available

RootsTech 2019 is February 27 to March 2, 2019, so the annual genealogy and technology conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah, is just a month away. 

Conference attendees -- those able to attend in person and those attending via LiveStream -- can access the 2019 class syllabus handouts using the conference app or the app's browser page. RootsTech has not made an announcement that syllabus handouts are available so not all syllabus may be added yet. If a session does not have a syllabus check back later to see if one has been added but note that not all sessions will have a handout.

RootsTech App
Like in previous years you must use a RootsTech App to download or email yourself the session syllabus handouts from either the Apple App Store or GooglePlay. The RootsTech App is made for SmartPhones. Unlike 2017 when the app was just finicky on a tablet, one of our members found the App unusable last year on that same tablet. It simply crashed with each attempt to open/use it. So usability may vary by non-smartphone device.

Please note that this is the same app as prior years. So if you made notes in the handouts thru the App and it is still on your device you will likely want to make sure you download the handouts to your computer or email them to yourself before loading the new 2019 conference information. Some users on other blogs have said it overwrites the prior year's information.

How do you find a session's handout? Search the conference schedule or search by speaker. To email a handout to yourself, you have to find the session you want, view the session, click on the PDF and you will be asked do you want to "open it, email it or take notes on the handout." By this route, you must do this individually for each session you desire a handout. The PDF file name will be a series of numbers and letters not the title of the session.

To download multiple session handouts at one time, click on the star next to the session in the conference schedule. Then go back to the App Home and then select the App's download and click the download icon. The files will que and be downloaded.

If you are able to get the App to run on your tablet, please note that some users have found the RootsTech App to be troublesome on a tablet so exercise some patience while using it. When you are done with the App you may want to remove it from your tablet. But if you initially downloaded the handout PDFs rather than email them, before you remove the RootsTech App be sure to email those PDFs to yourself. The downloaded PDFs are stored in the RootsTech App data and not in your device's download folder so if you delete the App you delete the PDFs.

Here's an example of where to find your downloaded session PDFs on an Android tablet: Prepare an email to yourself; click on attach files; go to My Files; go to the internal memory card (i.e. sdcard0) where apps store their data or that place on your device; go to Android folder; go to data folder; go to "com.coreapps. ...me.rootstech" folder (it will be named something like that); go to files folder; then check the select boxes and then done to attach your downloaded PDFs to the email; then send the email. Open the received email and save the attached files to your computer or another folder on your device. Now you will not lose the downloaded PDF files when you delete the RootsTech App.

RootsTech 2019 App Browser Page
For those without smartphones and for those who can't get the app to run on a tablet, don't despair. There is also a browser page for where you access the RootsTech 2019 App. If you view each session's handout individually you can download it without having to use a log-in id. Remember to rename the downloaded PDF file so you will know what it is later.

Remember class times are listed in Mountain Time at the RootsTech website and in the RootsTech App. We are Eastern Time which is 2 hours ahead. So 8:30 am Mountain is 10:30 am Eastern. See our RootsTech 2019 LiveStream Schedule Post listing sessions in Eastern Time with the session codes.

See You Soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library! 
LE

Got Swedish Ancestors? ArkivDigital Free Access Weekend Jan. 18 to 20, 2019

ArkivDigital is having a free access weekend to its Swedish Records and Books of interest to genealogists. Free Access runs from Jan. 18 to Jan. 20, 2019, Swedish time.

There is an ArkivDigital Blog post describing the free access weekend.

The site operates in Swedish and English. To participate you have to register your name and email (for free) with ArkivDigital. If you have not used ArkivDigital before, you will need to install the latest ArkivDigital viewer software in order to see the record images. Though it appears there is a web-version now. (The ArkivDigital viewer works best in Google's Chrome browser, a free software.) ArkivDigital has a help page for this free access weekend.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

The Evidence Explained Website is Back!

Good News for devotees of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills, the Evidence Explained website is back online! Apparently this happened around December 17, 2018.

The EE website was down for really a long time (since before June 2018) due to needed updates and modernization. So EE devotees had to rely on the Evidence Explained Facebook page which left non-Facebook users out in the cold. The new website is at the same URL so if you bookmarked it in your browser the same bookmark should get you to the "new" website.

From a short Q and A on the EE Facebook page's December 28 post, if you were a registered user (not needed to view the website, but needed to post to the forums) you will need to re-register on the new website. The website features a blog, QuickLessons and forums where users can ask their source and citation questions getting clarification or help crafting their source and citations from other users and even EE herself.

So if you have a question about a source or citation that has been burning for an answer, the forums are back to help you.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Let's Talk...Genealogy Meets Tomorrow, Topic is: Where Do I Go From Here?

Tomorrow is the first MCGG Let's Talk...Genealogy discussion group meeting of 2019. This Wednesday, January 9, at 7 p.m. in the Local History and Genealogy Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library. Our topic for the night is ... Where Do I Go From Here?
 
Bring research questions, brick walls, or new finds to share with the group. Let's share our challenges, maybe someone will have an idea to solve them. 

New attendees are always welcome.

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

The RootsTech 2019 LiveStream Schedule for February 27 to March 2, 2019

RootsTech is a genealogy and technology conference held each year in Salt Lake City, Utah. This year the conference runs February 27 to March 2. And like in previous years you can take part from the comfort of your favorite seat in your own home or where ever you happen to be with a good internet connection. Several sessions of RootsTech 2019 will be LiveSteamed each day so that those who cannot attend in person can take part in the learning.

Class session handouts will be available through the RootsTech 2019 conference app or the app's browser page in late February closer to the time of the conference. We will make a separate post on accessing the 2019 class session handouts once they are released.

Remember class times are listed in Mountain Time at the RootsTech website and in the RootsTech App. We are Eastern Time which is 2 hours ahead. So 8:30 am Mountain is 10:30 am Eastern. For your convenience we have listed the Live Stream Schedule here using Eastern Time and have included the class session numbers to make it easier finding the handouts.

Here's the Live Stream list according to Eastern Time. 

Wednesday, February 27th 
11:30 am to 12:30 pm  
What's New at FamilySearch?
presented by Ron Tanner
RT0001
 
1:00 pm  to 2:00 pm  
Hear Them Sing! Social History and Family Narrative
presented by Rebecca Whitman Koford
RT9521

3:30 pm to 4:30 pm  
Uncovering Family Stories with British and Irish Historic Newspapers (Sponsored by FindMyPast)
presented by Myko Clelland
RT3560

5:00 pm to 6:00 pm  
Connecting Your DNA Matches
presented by Jennifer Diahan Southard
RT3586

6:30 pm to 7:30 pm  
Wednesday General Session and Opening Event
presented by Stephen Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International
RT3000

Thursday, February 28th
10:00 am to 11:00 am 
Making the Leap -- Becoming a Professional Genealogist (Power Hour)
Luana Darby, Varlerie Elkins, Anne Teerlink
PH7232
 
11:30 am to 12:30 pm 
Finally! German Church Records and How to Use Them on FamilySearch
presented by Trish Melander
RT0007

1 pm to 2:00 pm  
Thursday General Session
presented by Patricia Heaton
RT4000

3:30 pm to 4:30 pm
What You Don't Know about Ancestry (Sponsored by Ancestry)
presented by Crista Cowan
RT8014

5 pm to 6:00 pm
"Jumping the Broom," Oil, Inheritance and African American Marriage in the South
presented by Kenyatta Berry
RT7720

6:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Perilous Assumptions: Revisiting Those First Finds
presented by Kris Rzepcznski
[note: Yes, that Kris from the Archives of Michigan.]
RT1678

Friday, March 1st
10:00 am to 11:00 am 
Why and How to Put Yourself into Your Family History (Power Hour)
presented by Curt Witcher
PH3381
 
11:30 am to 12:30 pm 
Essential Considerations for DNA Evidence
presented by Blaine Bettinger
RT1928

1:00 pm to 2:00 pm 
Friday General Session
presented by Saroo Brierley
RT5000

3:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Getting the Most Out of Billions of Records on MyHeritage SuperSearch (Sponsors by MyHeritage)
presented by Mike Mansfield
RT2939

5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Discover Your Japanese Ancestors
presented by Valerie Elkins
RT0289

6:30 pm to 7:30 pm
The Research Road Map: Your Path to Success
presented by Amy Johnson Crow
RT4167

Saturday, March 2nd
10:00 am to 11:00 am 
Trace the Story of Immigrant Ancestors in 3 Steps (Power Hour)
presented by Susan Miller, D. Joshua Taylor, and Frederick Wertz
PH2318
 
11:30 am to 12:30 pm 
Examining Your DNA Matches with DNA Painter
presented by Jonny Perl
RT8707

1:00 pm to 2:00 pm 
Saturday General Session
presented by Jake Shimabukuro
RT6000

3:30 pm  to 4:30 pm
Leading with Science at 23andMe (Sponsored by 23andMe)
presented by Sarah Lashkey
RT4503

5:00 pm  to 6:00 pm
The Silent Language of the Stones: Reading Gravestones through Symbols and Carvings
presented by Joy Neighbors
RT1457

If it is like prior years, the Live Stream access will be right on the RootsTech homepage starting on that Wednesday. 

See You Soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library! 
LE

Finding Your Roots TV Show Returns to PBS on January 8, 2019, at 8 p.m. EST

Season five of Finding Your Roots will premiere Tuesday, January 8, 2019, on your local PBS station at 8 p.m. EST. This is the hour-long genealogy television show headed by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

The season will spotlight 26 new guests. By episode they are: 1) Actor Andy Samberg and author George R.R. Martin; 2) Michael K. Williams and Felicity Huffman; 3) Christiane Amanpour, Ann Curry and Lisa Ling; 4) Sheryl Sandberg, Kal Penn and Marisa Tomei; 5) S. Epatha Merkerson and Michael Strahan; 6) Laura Linney, Michael Moore and Chloe Sevigny; 7) Tulsi Gabbard, Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan; 8) Marina Abramovic, Alejandro Innaritu and Kehinde Wiley; 9) Tig Notaro, Seth Meyers and Sarah Silverman; 10) Ty Burrell, Joe Madison, Dr. Gates’ personal DNA story and “The Finding Your Roots: The Seedlings” STEM Camp.

Everyone has different television delivery/provider systems. 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.) You can usually catch the episodes on your provider's in-demand service or on the PBS website a day or two after the episode has aired.

See You Soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Let's Talk...Genealogy's First Meeting of 2019 is: Where Do I Go From Here?

It is the first MCGG Let's Talk...Genealogy discussion group meeting of 2019, this Wednesday, January 9, at 7 p.m. in the Local History and Genealogy Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library. Our topic for the night is ... Where Do I Go From Here?
 
Bring research questions, brick walls, or new finds to share with the group. Let's share our challenges, maybe someone will have an idea to solve them. 

New attendees are always welcome.

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

This Friday's MCGG Meeting Topic is: Exploring MyHeritage Library Edition

This Friday aka tomorrow, January 4, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, MCGG member Lisa Eschenburg will present Exploring MyHeritage Library Edition on MeL.org. The Michigan Electronic Library (MeL) and its database MyHeritage Library Edition are free resources for all Michigan residents.

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

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

MCGG's SouthEast Michigan Genealogy Calendar Updated for Area's Meetings

Our MCGG SouthEast Michigan Genealogy Calendar has been updated.

You can easily find out what is going on at other historical and genealogical groups and societies around southeast Michigan.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE