Legacy LVUG Community

I found my Beeken family in the 1920 census, transcribed as Bulan ... and who could blame them considering the handwriting ... This small trick has helped me several times - Search using only the first names; name of head of family, first name of spouse and first name of one of the children. If one child doesn't work try another one.

Here are the official Black Friday sales from the Legacy online store today http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/black-friday-c321.php  Also a year Legacy Family Tree webinar subscription is discounted to $34.95. http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/black-friday-c321.php

Thomas MacEntee has compiled a list of genealogy bargains for this weekend. I notice that a subscription to Legacy Family Tree Webinars will be 30% off and Legacy will be 50% off! See his link for details. http://www.geneabloggers.com/ under the heading "Genealogy Bargains for Thursday 24 November 2016"

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom - not a usual entry but how about if we do a couple of things leading up to Thanksgiving in the USA (if you live in another country feel free to follow along!). (1) Spend more time with family and friends and less time with social media and games this holiday weekend. Tune out the noise and connect - have a few quiet moments when you can ask questions or have a relative share a story (and please record it - lots of voice recorders on those smart phones). How many of us would love to be able to hear the voices of our ancestors - grandparents, great grandparents, uncles & aunts? Well future generations will feel the same way - so take a few moments and just do it! (2) Realize we all have triggers - whether that is the economy, the election, religion or "fill in the blank." How about this Thanksgiving season we pull back from those triggers and just enjoy family and friends. Make your Thanksgiving table a "trigger free zone....

To me one important question is "Where did your nickname come from?"

Tuesday's Tip - last week I mentioned StoryCorps as a wonderful site for helping each of us gather stories. Well just in time for Thanksgiving (hopefully you are picking up that turkey soon!) comes another great website with some terrific questions to ask family members as you gather round the table. Check out the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage's questions to engage family members. My suggestion - choose some of these questions and type them in blocks - cut out the blocks and fold in half. If you have specific questions from a particular person, place those questions on their plate/place setting. Otherwise fill a bowl and pass it around during dinner. Then sit around with the voice recorder on and ask individuals to read the question and tell their story. You will have not only the story but their voice to add to your family history. Definitely add their story to your Legacy Family Tree family files. Take a look at the questions - which ones do y...

Tuesday's Tip - One of my favorite groups as those of you who have been in our LVUG Community know is StoryCorps - an amazing organization that gathers and preserves stories. Their website it wonderful and provides lots of tips and resources for interviewing family members and friends. As genealogists and family historians we know that names and dates are a start but it is the story of a person's life that is the key to making our family history come alive. Why not take some time to root around at the StoryCorps website and learn more about the Great Thanksgiving Day of Listening. Make some plans to engage with your family and learn one or more fascinating stories that will add to your family history. And don't forget that Legacy has some great resources in this area as well - take advantage of the interview questions. You can start out with the standard questions, make them your own, add or subtract as appropriate, and be ready for your own Great Thanksgiving Day ...

Tuesday's Tip - Today is a big day - in all 50 States and the District of Columbia, registered voters are going to the polls or dropping off their ballots (shout out to Washington and Oregon). We live in a country that has a presidential election every four years and we have a peaceful transition of power. Our collective ancestors drafted the provisions, many of our ancestors fought and died for our rights, many others have served our country in the military, in local, statewide and national office. Please take the time to vote - make your voice heard. And then please take a few moments to note that you voted in your Legacy program and perhaps learn a bit more about your ancestors' political lives - whether and where they were registered, if they ever held elective office, perhaps how you are related to any of our previous presidents, vice presidents, governors, senators or representatives. The right to vote has changed and expanded over the decades - adding those with...