PGSM May Meeting is Open to Public; Learn about Finding and Using Alien Registrations for 20th-Century US Immigrants

The Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan's May meeting is a webinar format that is open to the public. Hosted in partnership with the Polish Genealogy Society of Connecticut and the Northeast, the meeting takes place on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

Ryan Johnson will present Finding and Using Alien Registrations for 20th-Century U.S. Immigrants via Zoom. Invitations will be emailed to PGSM members.

Registration will be open to everyone at www.pgsm.org starting May 1. Pre-registration for this webinar meeting is required

Alien registration forms constitute an important federal immigration record series rich in genealogical details that was recently transferred from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to the National Archives Electronic Records Division. Join us to learn about why non-naturalized residents filed these forms just after the 1940 census and what information we might find in them about family members. We will then practice using a free database to identify and request these useful records.

Ryan Johnson, MAT, completed the National Genealogical Society's Advanced Skills in Genealogy Course and researches for clients in the Midwest. As the great-grandchild of eight 20th-century U.S. immigrants, he has special research interests in French Canada, Sweden, Italy, France, and the Baltic states.

See you at our favorite library!
LE

Mother's Day and Genealogy ... Pretty Sales on DNA and Vivid-Pix!

Happy Early Mother's Day to All!

Regardless of whether you are a Mom or even female, there are genealogy-related sales this time of year that might be of interest to you. Rather than detail them all individually, consider this a scavenger hunt of sorts.

April had DNA Day and several sales that started then turn into Spring or Early Mother's Day sales so some deals have been going on for while. Without further ado, here is a list.

DNA

AncestryDNA is now on sale for $29 until May 11, at 10 a.m. ET with taxes and shipping extra. There are options: pay $30 for the DNA test and 3-months of Ancestry World Explorer (which will renew at $99.95 every 3-months unless cancelled before term renewal) or pay $39 for the DNA test and 3-months of Ancestry All-Access (which will renew at $149 every 3-months unless cancelled before term renewal.

MyHeritageDNA has returned with the lowest price ever of $19.90 on its regularly priced $89 MyHeritageDNA test. Taxes and shipping extra; free shipping for 2 or more test kits. This sale ends today, May 3, 2026. There is also an option to pay the same price and also get 1-month of Complete free trial of MyHeritage's data subscription* and get free shipping. (*After 30 days, you'll enjoy a 50% discount and be charged $299 $149 for the first year. The Complete subscription renews annually. You can cancel anytime.)

FamilyTree DNA extended its DNA Day sale until April 30 but now is running its Mother's Day sale which runs until May 11. Some of the pricing it still the same.

FTDNA's FamilyFinder (autosomal) test is on sale for $39, regulary $79. The mtDNA (mitochondrial/maternal for male and females) test is now $119, regularly $159, which is $10 better than the DNA Day sale. The FamilyFinder + mtFull Sequence bundle (for one person to test) is on sale for $149, regularly $229. This is $10 better than the DNA Day sale. 

The Y-DNA tests (for testing males only) are back to regular pricing but they will more than likely be on sale for Father's Day. The prices listed for this sale for Y-DNA tests were better during the DNA Day Sale.

23andMe's Mother Day sales goes until May 10. The Basic Ancestry test is 20% off so on sale for $79, regularly $99. Taxes and shipping extra; limit 4 tests. The Advanced Ancestry+Health test is on sale for $80, regularly $199. That is a savings of 55%. With this test the 23andMe+ Premium renews at $69 per year which can be cancelled at anytime. The Ultimate Health+ Advanced Ancestry is on sale for $399, regularly $499. With this test the 23andMe+ Total Health renews at $199 per year which can be cancelled at anytime. The last two test types are FSA & HSA Eligible.

LivingDNA is on sale for $69, regularly $124, plus taxes and shipping. This company is in England and for UK ancestry tries to go down to the county-level. 

With any of the DNA companies you can see prior posts that MCGG has written by using the labels in the left column. Just click on the label and see posts on prior sales and changes throughout the years with each company's testing.

Also running sales are: 

Vivid-Pix is using a coupon code Family2026 for its Mother's Day and Father's Day sale. Save $10 on its Vivid-Pix RESTORE software making it $39.99. Save $40 on the Memory Station Home Edition Software for Windows (includes Vivid-Pix Restore software) making it $159.99. See our past posts on Vivid-Pix using our labels in the left-hand column.

There are probably more out there. Good luck finding a sale on what you want.

See you at our favorite library!
LE