Past Events 2016 - 2017
JUNE 2017
Our guest speaker this month was Kevin Arms from Lake Sumter State College. His background as a professional archivist, librarian, and faculty member made for an expert presentation.
His program, Digital Tools for Genealogy, addressed some of the digital tools available to help us collect, preserve, and organize our family photos and genealogical research. Kevin shared his insights on how to select which digitization and cloud storage options to use. He also provided a clear example of how Evernote and OneNote can help us organize, annotate, and manage the many documents we encounter in our research.
MAY 2017
Professional genealogist and presenter Annette Burke Lyttle returned as our guest speaker this month.
Her presentation on Free Online Genealogy Education was chockfull of helpful information. She provided detailed guidance on how to find free webinars online covering a multitude of genealogy topics. She also shared some of the hangouts, podcasts, and videos available to further expand our genealogical knowledge. Whether we are beginning genealogists or seasoned family history researchers, free online education can sharpen our skills and broaden our knowledge. Thank you, Annette, for providing such an informative and helpful presentation.
APRIL 2017
Jim and Terry Willard were our guest speakers this month. They are professional lecturers, authors, hosts of the former PBS series Ancestors, and lifelong proponents of genealogy and genealogical education.
They presented an outstanding program on Google and Genealogy Research. Members learned tips and insights for creating an effective Google search specifically designed to find family history information. Their program demonstrated how Google could be a true powerhouse for genealogy research. Attendees came away with a great list of tips and tricks to use in their searches.
MARCH 2017
Our guest speaker this month was the amazing Drew Smith.
Genealogy Professional. Academic Librarian. Author. National Speaker. Recipient of the National Genealogical Society's Filby Award for 2016. Co-host of the acclaimed podcasts "Genealogy Guys" and host of the "Genealogy Connections" podcast.
Drew presented an excellent program titled Before Your Test: DNA Basics You Need to Know. Deciding which DNA tests to take can be overwhelming. Drew provided a detailed, yet easy to follow, an overview of the different DNA tests available and what each has to offer. Genetic genealogy can open doors to identifying ethnic heritages, and it can help break down brick walls in family history research. Great program!
FEBRUARY 2017
Annette Burke Lyttle was our guest speaker. She is a Professional Genealogist and a highly respected speaker. She has presented on a wide variety of genealogy topics at the state, regional, and national conferences.
Annette spoke about Finding Your Family's Story in Free Online Newspaper Archives. She illustrated how historical newspapers could reveal information that brings our ancestors and their world to life. Her presentation was both informative and, courtesy of a marriage-prone ancestor, quite entertaining! Attendees learned how to use key resources such as Chronicling America, digitized state archive collections, and other websites to find and access newspapers from various time periods and locations.
JANUARY 2017
We were delighted to host Tom Wilcox, Librarian with the Leesburg Public Library. He is also a skilled and dedicated Genealogist.
We had a tremendous turn-out for Tom's presentation, Genealogy Resources at the Leesburg Public Library. We love our local library. It not only has an amazing collection of over 8000 genealogy-related items, but it is also a Family History Affiliate Library. This enables patrons to order and view microfilm from the vast collection at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The Leesburg Library also boasts a Genealogy Center with genealogy-dedicated computers and a ScanPro3000 digital microfilm reader/scanner. Tom provided a thorough and enthusiastically received an overview of the library's genealogy resources.
DECEMBER 2016
Our program this month was an
Overview of Cyndi's List, provided by a society member, Kristin Barcomb.
Cyndi's List is considered the single best resource for conducting genealogical research on the internet. It consists of over 200 categories providing links to over 300,000 genealogy-related websites. Kristin walked us through Cyndi's List homepage and then illustrated how to navigate the site's incredible collection of links.
NOVEMBER 2016
Based on input from our October meeting, we presented a program on Finding Your Social Media Comfort Zone. Society member, Kristin Barcomb, provided an introduction to genealogy-related podcasts, Facebook Groups, webinars, YouTube videos, and Pinterest boards. She explained what each of these social media platforms has to offer and how we can best use them to support our family history research.
OCTOBER 2016
Welcome back to all our previous and new members!
