DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 17, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 17, 2024

Take care of odds and ends in your family tree or do something over in your family tree, it is Mulligan Day.

or

Research the divorces in your family tree, it is Forgive an Ex Day.

or

Work on a problem in your family tree and if you still can't solve it determine what type of records might and make a plan to find them, it is Conflict Resolution Day.

It is also: Black Poetry Day, National Pasta Day, Wear Something Gaudy Day and Women in Military Service for America Memorial Anniversary.

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 16, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 16, 2024

Find the longest living person(s) in your tree and research them, it is National Fossil Day.

or

Research your immigrant ancestors today, it is World Food Day.

or

Research your family tree members who worked in retail, it is Department Store Day. Another route is to use digitized newspaper ads for stores to add background to your ancestors' stories. If they bought this or that, it would have cost this and that.

or

Research your family tree members who worked in the liqueur or beer industry be it a brewery or bar, it is National Liqueur Day.

It is also: National Sports Day, National Dictionary Day, Global Cat Day, and National Take Your Parents to Lunch Day.

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 15, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 15, 2024

Focus your research on the wives of the farmers today, it is International Day of Rural Women.

or

Focus your efforts on any Lucy in your family tree or work on finding marriage records, it is National I Love Lucy Day.

It is also: National Cheese Curd Day, White Cane Safety Day, National Grouch Day, National Lemon Bar Day, National Mushroom Day, and National Roast Pheasant Day, 

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 14, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 14, 2024

Research the Canadian ancestors in your family tree, it is Thanksgiving Day in Canada today.

or

Research any indigenous ancestors in your family tree, it is National Indigenous Peoples' Day and Columbus Day.

It is also: National Real Sugar Day, National Dessert Day (make or have your favorite or an ancestral one), Be Bald and Be Free Day, Defender of Ukraine Day, and National I Love You Day.

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 13, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 13, 2024

Research your religious ancestral family, it is Clergy Appreciation Day.

or

Research those members of your family tree that served in the Navy, it is Navy (Birthday) Day.

or

Take the day to learn another aspect of genealogy that you don't know much about or nothing at all, it is National Train Your Brain Day.

It is also: National Yorkshire Pudding Day, Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, Disaster Day and International Day for Disaster Reduction, and National M&M Day (have some.)

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 12, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 12, 2024

It is another opportunity to focus on the farmers in your family tree, it is National Farmer's Day.

or

If you have ancestors in Vermont then today is the day to research them, it is National Vermont Day.

or

Think outside the box at how you approach your genealogy research and research problems, it is National Freethought Day.

It is also: National Gumbo Day, National Savings Day, I Love Yarn Day, Yom Kippur (Day of Attonement), Day of Respect for Other Cultural Diversity, Harry Potter Book Day, Hispanic Day, National Chess Day, and National Motorcycle Ride Day.

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 11, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 11, 2024

Research the Southern ancestors in your family tree, it is Southern Food Heritage Day.

or

Research the military (especially the Calvary) in your family tree, it is General Pulaski Memorial Day.

or

Research a female or a few in your tree today, it is National Girl Child Day.

It is also: National Spread Joy Day, Vet Nurse Day, National Egg Day, Black Girl Day Off Day, and National Sausage Pizza Day.

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 10, 2024

 31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 10, 2024

Research your ancestors who resided where metrics is the form of measurement, it is National Metric Day today.

or

Research any ancestors who worked in the theater and film industry, it is International Stage Management Day.

or

Research the various celebration events in your ancestors' lives, it is National Cake Decorating Day. Every day more vital records and newspapers are indexed and digitized and put online so try searching again for your people.

It is also National Handbag Day, National Walk to a Park Day, World Porridge Day and World Sight Day.

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 9, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 9, 2024

Revisit your research of an ancestor who has you going in circles, it is International Top Spinning Day.

or

Research your wandering ancestral family members, it is Leif Erikson Day.

It is also: National Moldy Cheese Day, World Post Day, and National Curious Events Day.

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

Extended! MyHeritageDNA "Grandfathered In Sale" Now thru Oct. 13; Upload for Free Get Advanced DNA Tools Free Forever

Great News! The current MyHeritageDNA "sale" of free uploads of DNA Data and getting the DNA tools free forever has been extended until October 13!

Have you taken a DNA test at another testing site (i.e. AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe, etc.)? If so, you can download your DNA data from that site and transfer/upload it to MyHeritageDNA.

Why? It gets your test(s) into another DNA pool to fish for matches -- you never know where someone has tested. See some other reasons listed further down below.

And Why Now? From now until October 6 October 13, 11:59 p.m., when you upload your DNA test data to MyHeritageDNA you get the advanced features (normally $29 to unlock) for FREE FOREVER! Thus what many genealogists like to call the Grandfathered In Sale.

Haven't tested yet but would like to? MyHeritage is currently having a Special DNA Sale for autosomal DNA test kits which ends soon. The DNA test itself is regularly $89. This particular sale is offering a 30-Day Complete Free Trial to its website option also for the sale price of $39 plus taxes and shipping. If you already have a data subscription or just don't want the free trail, there is an option for just the test at the sale price.

But note that after the 30 days, the complete subscription will auto-renew unless you cancel the auto-renewal a couple days before the renewal date. For this initial renewal you will get 50% off ($149 instead of $299) the first year and additional years will be at the current regular price. You can cancel at any time.

The "Grandfathered In" Transfer Sale does not happen every year so when it happens catch it while you can. MyHeritage has guides to help you download your DNA data from whichever website you tested at originally. And, don't worry your original test stays on that original site.

MyHeritageDNA is becoming a "must be at" for its DNA tools. Its customer base is more international. MyHeritage has chromosome browser feature and made its internal member messaging feature free. It also offers an ethnicity/admixture report and a list of DNA matches. No data subscription is needed to see/use all the DNA matching features including its AutoCluster feature. A few additional features were added earlier last year and the year prior -- like an update to its ethnicity estimates and genetic groups including viewing the genetic groups of your match and seeing what you have in common.

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 8, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 8, 2024

Research your Polish ancestors, it is National Pierogi/Pirogi Day.

or

Research your fisherman ancestors no matter what it was they fished (even eel), it is National Salmon Day.

or

Research your newspaper working ancestors but if you do not have any then do research in digitized newspapers, it is National Newspaper Carrier Day.

It is also: National Heroes' Day, World Octopus Day, National Face Your Fears Day, National Fluffernutter Day, Deslexia Day, and Ada Lovelace Day (which highlights the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.)

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

MCGG Let's Talk...Genealogy Meets this Wednesday, October 9, at 6:30 p.m.

MCGG Let's Talk...Genealogy discussion group meets in-person (hybrid) this Wednesday, October 9, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. in the Local History & Genealogy Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library. Our topic is ... Exploring the Digital Michigan Newspaper Portal on Clarke Historical Library's Website.

Let’s share our tips and ask our questions regarding using this site, especially to explore our digitized Macomb County newspapers.

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

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 7, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 7, 2024

Pick an ancestor or ancestors who you have not researched in a long-time and try to shed new light on them, it's National LED Light Day.

or

Ask your elders when their family home got electricity or running water/plumbing, it is National Bathtub Day. It will not be long before this type of question may not be needed.

or

Research your ancestors/family in court records, it is Supreme Court Opening Day.

or

Pick a family tree member that matters to you and research that person today, it is You Matter to Me Day. Is he/she still living? Interview/Ask questions of that person -- in person or remotely using email or video-conferencing.

It is also: National Flower Day, National Forgiveness and Happiness Day, World Architecture Day.

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

 

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 6, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 6, 2024

Try something new or try a new way of researching, it is Change a Light Day.

or

Research your German ancestors, it is National German-American Day.

or

Research your African ancestry, it is International African Diaspora Day.

It is also: National Noodle Day, Mad Hatter Day, National Coaches Day, International Blessings of the Fishing Fleet Day.

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 5, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 5, 2024

Share something you found/have with a family member, it is Do Something Nice Day. Or research the Elizabeth or Betty members in your family tree, it is National Apple Betty Day.

or

Write down some of your memories for posterity, it is National Storytelling Day.

or

Research the school teachers in your family, it is World Teachers Day.

It is also: National Rhode Island Day, Frugal Fun Day, Bookshop Day, World Card Making Day, Digital Scrapbooking Day.

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

23andMe is Struggling -- Don't Panic, Preserve What You Can

So 23andMe the DNA testing site currently is having some struggles. If you have tested there, rather than panicking take some steps to preserve what you have access to today. Just in case.

When you initially got your 23andMe results, we hope you downloaded your raw DNA data. Doing so gives you a copy of the raw data for posterity and gives you the ability to transfer that data to another DNA testing site that accepts uploads. 

Like at MyHeritage which is currently running its rare "Grandfathered In" sales where you can upload your DNA raw data to its MyHeritageDNA site for free and get all the DNA tools for free, forever. The "sale" ends October 8 at 11:59 p.m. See our prior post on this "sale" -- DNA data from AncestryDNA, FamilyTree DNA and 23andMe can be uploaded. The site has instructions to help you. Doing this gets your DNA in another DNA match pool.

How to Download RAW DNA Data at 23andMe.

Didn't download your data at the start? Don't worry there is still a way to do so. Click on your profile name on the top right-hand corner of your homepage, and select Resources from the drop down menu. Then select “Browse Raw Genotyping Data” and then “Download” at the top of the page.

To request your raw data download, you first need to confirm the date of birth associated with the profile you are downloading data for. Once you’ve entered the correct date of birth, and read through the important things to consider, check the box at the bottom and select the ‘Submit request’ button. After you have requested the download of your data, you will receive a notification email within 2-4 days once it's ready to download and view. In order to download your raw data, you will need to verify the profile birth date again.

What else can you do? Download any reports you have if you have not done so already. Take screen captures of any other reports such as ethnicity so you can preserve those for the future. Some topics like ethnicity are presented in several ways. Make sure to preserve each view of it you may want in the future. For your match list and individual matches -- usually the closer ones or the ones of interest to you, screen capture or print to PDF each match when you view them individually. Unfortunately, views of the chromosome browser -- what you share with a match or matches -- is still disabled.

If you were an early purchaser of 23andMe testing kits, you may have archived reports. Instructions for downloading these archived reports is here. Not everyone has these reports. If you do, this help explains the difference between a summary and archived report.

So preserve what you can just in case. And, hope for the best outcome possible for 23andMe.

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 4, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 4, 2024

Researcher's choice, it is Plaidurday. Pick an ancestor or ancestors who wore plaid. Be they Scottish, a lumberman, a hunter, a Catholic school girl, etc. -- you get the plaid.

or

Research your ancestors who immigrated across an ocean, it is National Ship in A Bottle Day. If you have tried before, try again because records may have be indexed and/or digitized now that were not before.

or

Spend some time cleaning, re-organizing your office or "office-area," it is Improve Your Office Day.

It is also: Kanelbullens Dag (Cinnamon Bun Day) so have one while you are at it too, National Taco Day, World Smile Day, and National Golf Lovers Day.

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 3, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 3, 2024

Review your family tree and make a list/note of individuals who need to be researched, it is Look at the Leaves Day.

or

Make a list of possible technology you want/wish for this upcoming holiday season, it is Techie Day. Don't forget to add them to you shopping/watch lists.

It is also: Buy British Day, German Unity Day, National Boyfriend Day.

ALSO, Don't forget to select the "Family History Month" label in the left-column for additional prompts from years prior. We have lots of ideas to inspire your genealogy this month!

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

MyHeritageDNA "Grandfathered In Sale" Now thru Oct. 6; Upload for Free Get Advanced DNA Tools Free Forever

Have you taken a DNA test at another testing site (i.e. AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe, etc.)? If so, you can download your DNA data from that site and transfer/upload it to MyHeritageDNA.

Why? It gets your test(s) into another DNA pool to fish for matches -- you never know where someone has tested. See some other reasons listed further down below.

And Why Now? From now until October 6 11:59 p.m., when you upload your DNA test data to MyHeritageDNA you get the advanced features (normally $29 to unlock) for FREE FOREVER! Thus what many genealogists like to call the Grandfathered In Sale.

Haven't tested yet but would like to? MyHeritage is currently having a Special DNA Sale for autosomal DNA test kits which ends soon. The DNA test itself is regularly $89. This particular sale is offering a 30-Day Complete Free Trial to its website option also for the sale price of $39 plus taxes and shipping. If you already have a data subscription or just don't want the free trail, there is an option for just the test at the sale price.

But note that after the 30 days, the complete subscription will auto-renew unless you cancel the auto-renewal a couple days before the renewal date. For this initial renewal you will get 50% off ($149 instead of $299) the first year and additional years will be at the current regular price. You can cancel at any time.

The "Grandfathered In" Transfer Sale does not happen every year so when it happens catch it while you can. MyHeritage has guides to help you download your DNA data from whichever website you tested at originally. And, don't worry your original test stays on that original site.

MyHeritageDNA is becoming a "must be at" for its DNA tools. Its customer base is more international. MyHeritage has chromosome browser feature and made its internal member messaging feature free. It also offers an ethnicity/admixture report and a list of DNA matches. No data subscription is needed to see/use all the DNA matching features including its AutoCluster feature. A few additional features were added earlier last year and the year prior -- like an update to its ethnicity estimates and genetic groups including viewing the genetic groups of your match and seeing what you have in common.

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 2, 2024

 31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 2, 2024

Research your farmer ancestors, it is World Farm Animals Day.

or

Research your law enforcement relatives, it is National Coffee with a Cop Day.

or

Document your family's car ownership history, it is National Name Your Car Day.

It is also: Guardian Angel Day, International Walk to School Day, and National Custodian Day.

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully the other will work.

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

DYK? ... October is Family History Month! October 1, 2024

31 Days of Genealogy Inspiration

October 1, 2024

Backup your genealogy/family history related files.

or

Make a list of what you want to accomplish/DO genealogy-wise for each of the next fours weeks ... and do it!

We plan to have suggestions for each day of this month. Most will be smaller ideas to focus on for a day, some might be a little larger. We will try to have at least a couple suggestions so if one does not fit with your family history, hopefully another will work. 

For example, October 1 is International Racoon Appreciation Day so use today as a prompt to research your "bandit" ancestors/relations. Or, it is also Homemade Cookie Day, International Coffee Day, Pchum Ben (Ancestor's) Day, World Vegetarian Day, CD Player Day, China National Day, International Day of Older Persons, International Music Day, National Fire Pup Day, National Hair Day, National Lace Day, National Poetry Day, just to name some of them. So use these various and sometimes quirky themes to focus your genealogy/family history efforts be it for 15 minutes, an hour or two, or all day long. Bake a family cookie recipe, or scrapbook it, or share it with family. Research your ancestral bakers, musicians, firefighters, etc. It's Model T day, record your (and your family's) car owning histories. 

October itself is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, National Book Month, Filipino American History Month, Photographer Appreciation Month, to name but a handful.

You get the idea, I think.

And by the way, "DYK?" in the headline means Did You Know?

October is Family History Month!

See you at our favorite library!
LE

MCGG Meets Friday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m.

MCGG Friday group meets in-person (hybrid)
Friday, October 4, 2024, at 1 p.m.
in the Auditorium B/C of the Mount Clemens Public Library. Our topic is ... A.I. in Your Genealogy Research Today presented by Lisa Eschenburg.

Don't worry about all the technical aspects of Artificial Intelligence, this isn't that presentation. After a brief definition and pointing out some of the various ways to directly access A.I., we will cover a variety of ways we as genealogists are already dealing with AI in our genealogical research though you may or may not have realized it. Then you will learn some things you can do with the help of A.I. 

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