If you’re going to NGS 2016, enter to win a bundle of “genealogy gems” at the Genealogy Gems Booth #228! The grand prize package–worth over 0–is a fabulous bundle of expert genealogy instruction.
Attendees of NGS 2016 will have lots of opportunities to learn while at the conference in Fort Lauderdale, FL on May 4-7. But what if you could take home from there a year’s worth of expert instruction–online and in print–from top presenters on their best topics?
That’s what the winner of this year’s Grand Prize drawing at the Genealogy Gems booth will receive. And everyone who enters will receive a free e-book with all the handouts from the free Genealogy Gems Theater presentations during NGS.
So if you’re at NGS, take a second to download the entry form. Print and fill it out, then bring it with you to the Genealogy Gems booth #228 sometime during the conference. Just the free e-book you WILL receive is worth the effort. And cross your fingers–maybe it’s your turn to win BIG!
Again, to win the prize: Click here for the Grand Prize entry form (which also gets you the FREE ebook with all Genealogy Gems Theater session handouts). Drop the entry off at Booth #228.
Ready to see all that’s happening at NGS 2016 in the Genealogy Gems booth and theater? Click here to see the full series of free classes being taught in the Exhibit Hall–several will even be streaming online!
Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 225 Get ready for a fun and inspiring start to your new genealogy year. I’m not going to lecture you about how to get organized and all that – you get enough of that New Year banter other places. Today I’m going to bring you a talented...
If you are new to genealogy and family history, you are in the right place. Here’s a game plan for learning the ropes, getting inspired and making quick progress.
This article comes from a large collection of articles on our website just right for beginners. Our blog post articles are organized by topic.
All you need to do to find all of our past Beginning Genealogy articles is head to our website’s home page (image right) and use our Select Content by Topic menu.
You’ll find it at the top left just under the main red menu. Click the down arrow and select “Beginner” from the list. This will display all our past Beginner-friendly articles on your screen starting with the most recent. (Or simply click hereto go right to the Beginner article search results.)
Each episode is about 30 minutes long, and it will start you at the beginning and walk you through the genealogy research process.
You’ll find it not only educational but also inspirational. You’ll hear from expert genealogists about research strategies, as well as their own inspirational stories that will help motivate you to succeed in climbing your family tree!
Here’s where you can listen to the Family History podcast:
There are 45 episodes in the series. By the time you get to the end, you’ll be well on your way and ready to dig into to The Genealogy Gems Podcast. This is an ongoing monthly podcast with hundreds of episodes for your family history listening pleasure!
The Videos
The Genealogy Gems YouTube channelis packed with free videos on a wide variety of genealogical topics. We group them by category into “Playlists” for your convenience.
Below you can watch our Beginning Genealogy playlist of videos. Simply click the icon in the upper left corner of the video player and scroll through the list. As we add new videos we will continue to add videos to the playlist.
DNA – Genetic Genealogy
New to DNA?
Watch the video below which features our own DNA expert Diahan Southard. She explains DNA testing for genealogy is a wonderful, easy-to-understand way.
Want more from your DNA results?
If you have started your family history journey by getting your DNA tested, you will want to get the most from your results. Your results can match you with other relatives, but you will need to have a family tree built so that you can capitalize on those connections. Use the resources and suggestions already mentioned above on this page to accomplish that goal. Then get even more from your DNA results with our expert advice. First, watch the video below to be sure you are on the right track.
A new Welsh genealogy resource has been launched by the National Library of Wales! Other new genealogy records online: Canadian military bounty applications, English and Scottish newspapers, Peru civil registration, Swiss census, a WWI online exhibit, Massachusetts probate records, and Minnesota Methodist records.
(Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Thank you for supporting the Genealogy Gems blog!)
Featured: Welsh Genealogy
Article hosted at Welsh Journals Online. Click to view.
The National Library of Wales has launched Welsh Journals Online, a new website with its largest online research resource to date. It contains over 1.2 million digitized pages of over 450 Welsh journals. “Providing free remote access to a variety of Welsh and English language journals published between 1735 and 2007, the website allows users to search the content as well as browse through titles and editions,” states an article at Business News Wales. “The website also enables users to browse by year and decades and provides a link to the catalog entry for each journal.”
The collection is described as containing the nation’s “intellectual history,” valuable whether you want to learn about attitudes of the day, find old recipes, or explore popular products and fashions. According to the above article, “Welsh Journals Online is a sister-site to Welsh Newspapers Online, which was launched in 2013 and which last year received almost half a million visits.”
Canada military bounty applications
A new database at Ancestry.com contains the names of Canadian militiamen who served between 1866-71 against the Irish nationalist raids of the Fenian Brotherhood and survived long enough to apply for bounty rewards beginning in 1912. Raids took place in New Brunswick, Ontario, the Quebec border, and Manitoba; members of the Canadian Militia in Ontario, Quebec and even Nova Scotia were called up in defense. The database includes both successful and disallowed applications and some pension-related records for those who were killed or disabled while on active duty.
England newspapers
The British Newspaper Archive recently celebrated putting its 20 millionth newspaper page online! They’re running a flash sale: 20% off 1-month subscriptions until 6/20/17 with promocode BNAJUN20. New content there includes historical news coverage of:
Norwich, Norfolk: over 7,000 pages from the Eastern Evening News for several years between 1884 and 1891 (total coverage for this paper planned to span 1882-1910).
Findmypast also recently announced 11 brand new titles and over 1.3 million new articles in its collection of historical British newspapers. New titles now available to search include Dudley Herald, Warrington Guardian, Willesden Chronicle, Goole Times, Weston Mercury, Annandale Observer and Advertiser, Bridgnorth Journal and South Shropshire Advertiser, Pateley Bridge & Nidderdale Herald, Fraserburgh Herald and Northern Counties’ Advertiser, Isle of Wight County Press and South of England Reporter, and Eastern Morning News.
Peru civil registration
Over a million indexed names have been added to FamilySearch’s existing collection of Peruvian civil registration records, which span over a century (1874-1996). According to the collection descriptions, these records include “births, marriages, deaths, indexes and other records created by civil registration offices in the department of Lima, Peru.”
Scotland newspapers
The British Newspaper Archive has added more newspaper coverage from Arbroath, Angus in eastern Scotland. Issues from 1873-1875 from the Montrose, Arbroath and Brechin Review have been added, bringing the total coverage to 1849-1919.
Swiss census records
A new collection of indexed images of the 1880 census for Fribourg, Switzerland is now searchable at the free FamilySearch.org website. According to the collection description, “Each entry includes name, birthplace, year of birth, gender, marital status, religion, occupation.”
This 1880 census entry image courtesy of the FamilySearch wiki. Click to view.
U.S.: WWI Online Exhibit
The Veterans History Project has launched a web exhibit complementing the Library of Congress’s exhibition “Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I. ” The three-part web exhibit will help tell the larger story of the war from the perspective of those who served in it,” states an announcement. “The first part is now available at loc.gov/vets/. Part II and Part III will be available in July and September 2017.”
The Veterans History Project has on file nearly 400 personal narratives from World War I veterans. Watch some of these narratives in the video below.
U.S.: Massachusetts probate records
The New England Historic Genealogical Society has added a new database: Berkshire County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1791-1900. “Drawn from digital images and an index contributed to NEHGS by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives, this database makes available 21,143 Berkshire County probate cases filed between 1761 and 1900.” Watch this short video for tips on navigating this collection:
U.S.: Minnesota Methodists
The cover of an original Methodist membership register from the Minnesota conference archive. Registers often include members’ names, family relationship clues, baptisms, marriages and more.
Now it’s easier to locate records relating to your Methodist ancestors in Minnesota. The archive of the Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church now has an online catalog of its holdings. The catalog contains about 700 items, according to a Conference press release, and continues to be updated regularly.
A Methodist conference is a regional geographic unit of government, similar to but often larger than Catholic dioceses. Each conference has an archive, to which congregations may send their original records. The online catalog has collections of photographs, archival material such as records of closed churches, and library material such as books about Methodism in Minnesota. Currently the catalog shows 42 collections of original church records, which are often the most useful for genealogists.
Stay current with new genealogy records online!
Sign up for Lisa Louise Cooke’s FREE weekly e-newsletter at the top of this page.
It’s a Scandinavian genealogy dream come true: over 135 million new free records at FamilySearch! Also new (and free): church records for England, France, Germany; Italian and Mexican civil registration; archival indexes for The Netherlands; South African court...
expert genealogy instruction.
Ready to see all that’s happening at NGS 2016 in the Genealogy Gems booth and theater? Click here to see the full series of free classes being taught in the Exhibit Hall–several will even be streaming online!
Start by reading 
The free
The
