1. Art and Diseño

RELATIVELY SPEAKING
Genealogy SIG of Sun City Computer Club
February 2015
February Meeting Wednesday February 4 at 7:00 PM
In this issue:
Updates from the 1
Chair
Alex Whan
Round Tables
Rose Mebane
1
Getting Started
in
Genealogy
2
Class from
Heritage Library
3-5
January
Program
Revisited
Michele Eberhart
6
Show and Tell
Alex Whan
7
Contact
Information
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Updates From the Chair
February Program
Using Computer Club Resources for Researching Your
Family History
Alex Whan
Dedra Roberts will provide an overview of what is available to all Computer Club members to help them in their genealogical and/or historical
research. The focus will be on resources available in the Computer Club
rooms.
Hidden Cypress at 7:00PM
Round Tables
From Rose Mebane
Two roundtables were held last year for the Genealogy SIG members. In October several members met who had ancestors who came from Germany. In November another group met who had English ancestors. If anyone in the Genealogy SIG would like to have a roundtable set up for any other country please call
Rose Mebane at 705-6056 or contact at [email protected]. A roundtable is an
informal discussion group where ideas and information is exchanged. The moderator may also have additional information to share. These groups are especially helpful to new researchers or someone who has hit a "brick wall."
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Please wear your computer club badge to meetings!
Thanks.
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Classes from the Heritage Library in 2015
February
Get With the Program! Using Family Tree Maker 2014
Presented by Carol Clemens
Wednesday, February 4, 2015; 1:30 - 3:30 pm
If you are using a version of Family Tree Maker (FTM) prior to 2010 or if you are not familiar with this
software at all, this is the class for you! This introduction to FTM 2014 will help you with the basics of entering data and photos into the program so that all your research is organized and safely stored on your computer. Learn how to add on-line information and sources to your tree without having to hand enter the data. In addition, you will learn how to back-up your work on an external source such as a flash drive. The
class will include the basics of preparing and printing simple charts and reports. If you are only making
"paper copies" of your information, only saving your tree on ancestry.com, or doing nothing with your research, come see what you can do with FTM 2014!
Requirements: This is a beginning class for the Family Tree Maker 2014 software, however it is also appropriate for those using 2010 through 2012. Those attending must have basic computer skills and be familiar
with searching the internet.
Questions? Contact Carol Clemens at [email protected]
Fee: $10 Library members; $15 Non-members.
Create Your Own Free and Easy Genealogy Website
Carol Clemens, Volunteer, Heritage Library Foundation
Wednesday, February 11, 2015, 1:30 - 3:30 pm
This class will walk you through how to use a free, online service to create your own website for genealogy
and photos. The site offers an array of templates and options to make the task easy. You do NOT need to
know anything about website building. At the end of this class you will be able to:
1. Set up a free website personalizing the format and background.
2. Add individual photos and photo albums to your site.
3. Upload charts, reports, documents from a genealogy program such as Family Tree Maker.
4. Share your site with family members without overwhelming them.
Provide an easy way for others to review your genealogy research and send you updates/corrections.
A brief review of a few basics of the Creating Great Gifts class from November will be inluded. However,
this class assumes that those attending have taken the Creating Great Gifts class in 2010 or 2011, or already
know how to upload and work with photos online. It is also helpful if you are using Family Tree Maker
2009 or later, or a similar genealogy program. This is NOT a beginning class. If you are unsure if you
have the prerequisites for taking this class, please contact Carol at [email protected].
Fee: $10 Library members; $15 Non-members.
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Classes from the Heritage Library in 2015
continued
Search for Your Italian Roots
Presented by Carole Rossi
Heritage Library Member
Wednesday, February 18, 2015; 1:30 - 3:30 pm
This class will give you information on how to successfully obtain Italian documents (birth, marriage and death) using Family Search films from the LDS Library in Salt Lake City and directly
from the Italian Archives. You will learn how to obtain "family group" sheets from village parishes as well as how to use form letters find key words to help with research, web sites and organizing. Carole will show examples and provide
handouts in order to help you begin or further your research.
Fee: $10 Library members; $15 Non-members.
Searching for Eastern Canadian Ancestors
Presented by Bruce Arnold
Heritage Library Member
Wednesday, February 25, 2015; 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Bruce will provide a brief history of the development of Canada as a country and then
talk about genealogy research in each of the eastern Provinces from Ontario to the East.
Fee: $10.00 Library members; $15 Non-members.
March
Lineage Organizations: DAR and SAR
Presented by Sunni Winkler
Heritage Library Librarian
Wednesday, March 4, 2015; 1:30 - 3:30
Learn the history of both the Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the
American Revolution, their community activities, what is required for membership, how
the two organizations differ in requirements, and how to complete the applications for
each.
Fee: $10.00 Library members; $15 Non-members.
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Classes from the Heritage Library in 2015
continued
Exploring Irish Roots
Presented by Beth O’ Keefe
Heritage Library Volunteer
Wednesday, March 11, 2015; 1:30-3:30 pm
A recent census found that 56.7 million Americans have Irish ancestry, 18.6% of the population. Another 5.4
million Americans have Scots-Irish ancestors, being descended from Protestant immigrants from Ulster who
were originally from Scotland. Only Germany has contributed as many Americans as Ireland. There are many,
many folks who have an Irish ancestor or two who don't identify themselves as Irish- except maybe on St Paddy's Day! Even President Obama has Irish ancestors.
Folks are often told that it is impossible to find Irish ancestors because so much was lost in fires during the
"Troubles." This is true, and not true. Many records were safely in the parish church or other locations. However, for lost censuses, there are "work-arounds".
During this workshop, we will explore a little bit of Irish history, to explain where the Irish came from--whether Celtic, Norman or Viking. We will briefly look at Irish immigration patterns to the U.S., including the
famine years. We will talk about finding your Irish ancestors in this country, how to jump the pond back to
Ireland, and will touch on research of those ancestors in Irish sources.
This workshop is intended to whet your appetite to begin your path on the way to finding those brave Irish
folk. Handouts will be provided, and while this workshop will probably be most interesting to those with Irish
roots, much of the material will be pertinent to folks with other ancestry. We promise not to throw you out if
you aren't Irish!
Fee: $10.00 Library members; $15 Non-members.
Newspapers: A Genealogist's Treasure Trove!
Carol Clemens
Heritage Library Volunteer
Wednesday, March 18; 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Newspapers offer a lot more to the careful researcher than just obituaries. This class provides an
overview of how to use newspapers in your research. You may even find something in a newspaper to
help you break through a brick wall!
You will leave this class with:

A list of sources for locating newspapers

Suggestions on how to most effectively search newspapers

Options for obtaining/saving/copying articles

Tips on "following the clues" found in newspapers
Ways to flesh out your family history through newspaper research
This class is appropriate for those with basic computer skills and genealogists of all levels.
Fee: $10.00 Library members; $15 Non-members.
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January Program Revisited
Michele Eberhart
This past January several members brought items from their ancestors to display and explain. We saw guns, clocks, bayonets, spoons and passports to name just a few. All had interesting stories associated with them.
If any member has interesting artifacts that perhaps are too large or to fragile to display,
they can submit a photo of their item along with a brief write up to the newsletter. A few
will be featured each month.
Those members who brought items in January are welcome to send along photos and write
ups as well, since not all members were able to attend the January meeting. Please see the
sample below.
Silver Coin Spoon
From Michele Eberhart
The spoon comes down to me from my fraternal grandmother’s maternal grandmother. It was the one thing
left to me from my Grandmother Gertrude (Miller) Peterson. That means that it was made for my second
great grandmother, whose Initials appear on the handle MLP, Mary Lewency Percy, her maiden name.
The story associated with the spoon, handed down by the family was vague and no doubt unreliable. We
knew that it had belonged to my grandma’s female ancestors. We were also told that in the olden days metal
eating utensils were scarce to non-existent. The dates on Mary L Percy are from 1826 to 1918, so since humans have had spoons since the middle-ages in Europe, we have to question this fact. It may be that poorer
folks did not have metal utensils, but who knows.
After I began tracking my ancestors it was determined who the original owner of this spoon was. We knew
it was monogramed, but didn’t know the relationship to my grandma.
This spoon is made of silver coin and has the name
Trask & Morse on the back. It has 3 stamps, an
arm and hammer, a crown and a Lion rearing on
his hind legs. Trask and Morse apparently were
silver smiths in Illinois about the time my 2nd great
grandmother would have lived there. The shape of
the handle is of a fiddle, which was a common
shape for these silver makers. The bowl may be
hammered as many are described to be.
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Show and Tell
From Alex Whan
W. Merritt Coleman’s picture shows
the sword I presented at the January Show and Tell. My great grandfather lost his left arm in the Civil
War at the “Battle of the Wilderness”. He lived to be 85 and my
mother grew up in his house.
He fought in many major battles including Antietam, Vicksburg, and
Fredericksburg as part of Michigan’s 17th Infantry regiment. A
Captain in the 17th Michigan, he
was the executioner of the 4 people
convicted of involvement in the assassination of President Lincoln.
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Genealogy SIG
Our Chairperson
Alex Whan
[email protected]
Librarian
Gail Ward [email protected]
Membership
Norma Stewart
[email protected]
Newsletter editor
Michele Eberhart
[email protected]
Immediate Past President
Eileen Broden-Lohne
Program Committee
Alex Whan
[email protected]
Anne Hamilton
Brian Dugan
Debbie Gregory
Rose Mebane
Dennis Stull
Send us your questions.
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