The September 11th Research Group meeting of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society (CVGS) had 13 attendees.
In the first hour, Randy discussed:
* Family Tree Maker 2014 genealogy software was released this week. He demonstrated some of the new features. There is a 20% discount now for new buyers.
* Ancestry.com raised their 6 month US subscription rate to $99 from $79. Many of the attendees grumbled about it. Randy noted that it is 54 cents a day now. The World subscription rate is currently $149 for six months. Monthly subscriptions are about 20% higher.
* The Who Do You Think You Are? TV series for 2013 has ended, but some of the shows are still available for free on the http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/who-do-you-think-you-are website. Genealogy roadshow will start on PBS on Mondays from 23 September through 14 October at 9 p.m.
* The NARA Genealogy Fair was well received - and the video from all of the sessions on September 3-4 are available for free at http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/know-your-records/genealogy-fair/ The syllabus material for most of the presentations is available in PDF format.
In the second hour, the attendees discussed:
* Arline made a cousin contact, but they found the wrong Thomas Tway in the same place as their 2nd great-grandfather. They're looking for more records.
* Karen subscribed to Reminisce magazine and recommends subscribing if family history and historical articles appeal to you.
* Mary Lou spent time in Lincoln, Nebraska doing research in the new county building there. She was able to find over 20 land records for her families there and used the microfilm to paper copy machine to print them. She wanted more information about autosomal DNA. She also wanted to know just how much information was on the U.S. National Archives site. The group said that there was a lot, but there was much more not digitized. The NARA genealogy page is http://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/index.html. There is a Guide for Genealogists and Family Historians at http://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/online-catalog-guide.html. Researchers should look at the NARA Genealogy Fair presentations for more examples and guidance.
* Gary found a gravestone photo for Philip Roff (1753-1833) in an Ancestry Member Tree and wondered where it came from. We found it on Find A Grave. The gravestone says Philip served in the Albany NY militia in the Revolutionary War. He can't find any more information online about this.
* Virginia was contacted by two distant cousins on MyHeritage on her Bland line. One cousin was in Australia, the other in Florida.
* Sam is working on his surname line. Robert Seat is in Tennessee in the 1850 Census, age 24. He is not in the Census records by 1880. He thinks that Robert's wife is a Sarah Creech, and there is a Creech family nearby in the 1850 Census. Sam's question was how to find more records that would help him identify Robert's parents. The group suggested finding land records and probate records in the Tennessee counties that he lived in. Probate records for Tennessee Court Books and Files are in brows-only collections on FamilySearch.
* Kathleen found information on her grandmother Manning in a book for Andrew Messenger in the Family History Library Catalog. It said that it was downloadable, but she couldn't make it download. someone else was using it every time she tried to read it. Patience and late at night probably works here.
* John is still exploring the Connecticut Military Census on Ancestry.com.
* Mary Lou asked if there are records for persons who paid the government to avoid serving in the Civil War, or of those who recruited someone else to take their place when drafted? The group did not know. After the meeting, Randy found http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1994/winter/civil-war-draft-records.html and passed it to Mary Lou.
The next meeting of the CVGS Research Group will be on Wednesday, October 9th at 12 noon in the Conference Room at the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street in Chula Vista). All interested parties are welcome.
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