Monday, July 7, 2025

Genealogists Prepare! It's Back-to-School Sale Time! Time to Restock Your Genealogy Supplies AND IT'S PRIME DAY TIME July 8-11, 2025, with Associated Sales by Various Competitors

 It's time for our annual reminder ...
Back-to-School Sales on school supplies are not just for kids! These sales are for genealogists too!

Just a few of the many supplies a genealogist would use.

They're here ... Back-to-School sales are out there. So prepare yourself for these sales AND for Amazon Prime Day 2025 which is July 8 through 11 this year.

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 going on for the next couple months so you can partake in the savings too. 

What would interest a genealogist? The first things that come to mind are USB Flash drives (large sizes at great prices and small sizes at even better prices); printer/copier paper; pens and pencils; pencil lead (for those mechanical pencils); highlighters; file folders or pocket folders; paper and binder clips; index cards for those that like old school ways; plastic file boxes (keep that water damage away); sticky notes; binders; paper; computer accessories (like mice, computer bags, external hard drives for backups and backups for the backups or to just expand your file storage capacity, printers, software, large monitors, and more); etc. Even office desks and chairs can be found on sale. 

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 much easier to find nowadays. 

Computers and Associated Electronics
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. (If your computer is really old and can not upgrade to Windows 10 11 because of old hardware or low-memory issues consider these sales. Also if your computer is more than five years old consider the changes currently taking place in Windows 10  11 updates that will not account for older hardware.) Why risk continuing to use old hardware -- step into the modern technology world. Just remember to get as large of hard drive and 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. While desktop computers are a little less expensive, laptops have the advantage of portability meaning you can take them with you to the library or researching. 

Laptops with DVD/CD readers/burners are getting harder to find but you can find them though it may mean a larger laptop. Or consider getting a stand-alone DVD/CD drive to go with the laptop. Chrome books and tablet/laptop conversions can be cheaper but may not run your programs/applications. Make sure the device you are considering can handle your must-have program/applications. 

A new thing to consider is the number of USB ports included in the laptop/desktop and even which other ports are included. Many of today's computers are now using USB-C (that smaller port) rather than traditional USB so you also want to keep an eye out for a USB hub or docking station which allows you to expand your plugin options using just one USB-C port. Some hubs simply give you more USB ports others also add HDMI ports, SD-card ports, ethernet ports, audio/mic port, etc. there are many combinations out there. Also, look out for adapter/converter pack that change USB-A to USB-C and/or the other way around. Or even ones that besides converting A and C also add USB slots. 

And, do not forget about those external hard drives for additional storage space AND for backing up all your data. Lastly, you can always add a large-size monitor to make viewing the screen easier.

And for those who shop Amazon. Hopefully, you see this before the 2025 Prime Day begins. This time, Prime Day is July 8 through 11 -- four days of savings. You can also use this tip for Black Friday/Cyber Monday.  Put what you are eyeing in a shopping list and watch it for a while to see how the price drops or rises. Great deals can be found so keep an eye out for those short term deals but remember to do your due diligence and make sure your sale price is indeed a good one.

And, don't forget to check out those "competition" stores that are holding similar sales during Prime Day time too -- Costco, Target, Walmart, Kohls, Best Buy, etc.  -- you may find the best deal at one of those sites.

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

See you at our favorite library! 
LE

Friday, July 4, 2025

DNA Clustering is Coming to AncestryDNA

We just heard that DNA Clustering is rolling out for AncestryDNA users who have the extra DNA ProTools subscription. If you already have ProTools you may or may not have clustering added at this time. As we said, it is being rolled out so it may take a little time to get it. [Note: LE who has ProTools at this time does not yet have the clustering feature.]

 

Since it is Ancestry, there are some limitations compared to the clustering available at MyHeritageDNA.

Want to learn more? Watch the new (released today) YouTube video on the Ancestry DNA Clustering presented by Dana Leeds.

Have a great Holiday Weekend!

See you at our favorite library!
LE 

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Free Access to OldNews.com from MyHeritage July 3 to 5, 2025

MyHeritage is offering free access to the entire collection of 151,432,486 U.S. newspaper pages on OldNews.com from July 3 to 5, 2025!

 

There is a post on the MyHeritage Blog for more information. But you can jump into search at the OldNews.com website. At the bottom of the home page is a list of US States where you can explore what newspapers OldNews has for each state.

Enjoy some time on your genealogy searches this holiday time.

See you at our favorite library!
LE 

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Our MCGG Let's Talk...Genealogy Meeting is This Wed., June 11, at 6:30 pm; Get Ready, Set ... for a Summer of Genealogy

MCGG Let's Talk...Genealogy discussion group meets in-person (hybrid) this Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in the Local History & Genealogy Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library. Our topic is ... Get Ready, Set ... for a Summer of Genealogy.

Let's share our ideas and plans for continuing our genealogy pursuits during this summer break. 




Our plan is that our meetings will be hybrid meaning the meeting will be in-person with a virtual Zoom option. The Zoom meeting link (or registration link) will now be found on our Southeast Michigan Genealogy Events Calendar and our Facebook page. The link will usually be added the night before or morning of the meeting. Members will receive a reminder email with the Zoom invite or a reminder that registration is required for a meeting.

New attendees are always welcome.

See you at our favorite library!
LE

 

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Our MCGG Friday Meeting is This Friday; 4th Annual MCGG Member Medley

 MCGG Friday group meets in-person (hybrid) this Friday, June 6, 2025, at 1 p.m.
in the Board Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library. Our topic is the ... 4th Annual MCGG Member Medley.

Through short (five to twenty-minute) presentations/stories we will learn about the research efforts our fellow members and resources used which might give us ideas to help our own research.

This year Alicia, Ashley, Coryne, Karen and Lisa, both in-person and hybrid, will share stories from their own research.




Our plan is that our meetings will be hybrid meaning the meeting will be in-person with a virtual Zoom option. The Zoom meeting link (or registration link) will now be found on our Southeast Michigan Genealogy Events Calendar and our Facebook page. The link will usually be added the night before or morning of the meeting. Members will receive a reminder email with the Zoom invite or a reminder that registration is required for a meeting.

New attendees are always welcome.

See you at our favorite library!
LE

 

Friday, May 23, 2025

Memorial Day Weekend

First, we thank and remember those that died while serving our country.

The unofficial start of Summer, Memorial Day Weekend also comes with a variety of sales including sales on genealogy and local history products.

"American Flag" by JeepersMedia is
licensed under CC BY 2.0. Altered: cropped.

Various events throughout the Summer can often tie into genealogy and result in various sales and free offers in the genealogical and family history community.

So, keep an eye for those DNA sales to name just one type of sale.

Look out for any free access weekends that may appear. Check those favorite websites or those you would like to have access to but don't yet because maybe you don't have enough research to do to justify the cost.

And keep an eye out for those other genealogy products. These are just two sales we already spotted.

Ancestry.com is having a 40% off sale on 6-month memberships for those without a current active membership. The sale ends Wed., May 28, 2025, at 10 a.m. ET. These will auto-renew so remember to cancel a few days before the subscription end date if you don't want renew at full-price.


 

RootsMagic is having a sale this weekend from now through Monday, May 26. Save up to 50 percent off the cost of RootsMagic 10 with the code MEMORIAL2025. New users will pay $24.95 instead of regular price $39.95 and upgrading users (of previous versions of RootsMagic or FamilyOrigins) will pay $20.00 instead of the $29.95 regular price. There are no shipping costs if you pick the download version. (Just save a copy of the file to an external drive or USB in case you need to reinstall the program.)

RootsMagic 10 works with  Windows 8, 10, or 11 OR
macOS High Sierra (10.13), Mojave (10.14), Catalina (10.15), Big Sur (11), Monterey (12), Ventura (13), Sonoma (14), or Sequoia (15.)

Have fun researching your ancestors!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

Our June Meetings are Just Around the Corner and so is the End of the Season!

A reminder about our Macomb County Genealogy Group June 2025 meetings.

MCGG Friday group meets in-person (hybrid) on Friday, June 6, 2025, at 1 p.m.
in the Board Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library. Our topic is the ... 4th Annual MCGG Member Medley.

Through short (five to twenty-minute) presentations/stories we will learn about the research efforts our fellow members and resources used which might give us ideas to help our own research.

This year Alicia, Ashley, Coryne, Karen and Lisa, both in-person and hybrid, will share stories from their own research.






MCGG Let's Talk...Genealogy discussion group meets in-person (hybrid) Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in the Local History & Genealogy Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library. Our topic is ... Get Ready, Set ... for a Summer of Genealogy.

Let's share our ideas and plans for continuing our genealogy pursuits during this summer break. 




Our plan is that our meetings will be hybrid meaning the meeting will be in-person with a virtual Zoom option. The Zoom meeting link (or registration link) will now be found on our Southeast Michigan Genealogy Events Calendar and our Facebook page. The link will usually be added the night before or morning of the meeting. Members will receive a reminder email with the Zoom invite or a reminder that registration is required for a meeting.

New attendees are always welcome.

See you at our favorite library!
LE