The Genealogy Club of Montgomery County met 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Crawfodsville District Public Library. Meeting called to order by President Shannon Hudson who then led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Hudson called upon Dian Moore, activities director, to introduce our speaker for the evening. Moore said that Amie Cox is so well known to most of us that she really needs no introduction.
Cox is presenting Top 10 Genealogy Updates this evening. She is the district media specialist for the Crawfordsville Community School Corporation, works part-time in the local history section of the CDPL, and has been an ‘amateur’ genealogist for 25 years. Very skilled at genealogy.
1. Family Search – http://www.familysearch.org/ Many of us have used this site, but Amie was telling us that it is constantly updated and that they have digitized all their microfilm-which would be 2.4 million rolls. It is not all indexed yet, but if you explore, some of them have their own index.
2. Podcasts – You do not need to download an app. Usually, you can go direct to the website and finding the podcasts, you can open one up and listen.
The Family Tree Magazine Genealogy Podcast
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/genealogy-podcast/
The Genealogy Gems Podcast
https://www.lisalouisecooke.com/podcasts/
Extreme Genes
https://www.extremegenes.com/extreme-genes-podcast
Ben Franklin’s World – A Podcast About Early American History
https://benfranklinsworld.com/
3. Boolean Searches
Boolean Operators are simple words (AND, OR, NOT or AND NOT) used as conjunctions to combine or exclude keywords in a search, resulting in more focused and productive results. This should save time and effort by eliminating inappropriate hits that must be scanned before discarding. Amie’s favorite is to put quotation marks around what you want to search. “Daniel Boone AND Rebecca Boone”, “Daniel Boone KY” Try 4 or 5 different ways of entering your search information to obtain differing results.
4. Snagit – https://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.html
Saves an image as a ping file. It is free to use. A capture tool by Techsmith. When you save you can put in any folder you wish, not just in a pictures folder.
5. County/State Databases- SHAARD – https://www.secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/welcome.html - ENTER as Guest. This site has structural surveys and listings of OLD houses in Indiana.
Illinois State Databases – https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/archives/databases/home.html
Click ‘Departments’, click ‘Illinois State Archives’, click DATABASES
BLM-GLO – Land Records – https://glorecords.blm.gov/
Bartholomew County Archives-
https://www.bartholomew.in.gov/archives/search-archives.html
6. SlideScan – An app on a cellphone. You can turn a collection of old slides into digital pictures. You need your phone and a computer.
7. Storyworth – https://www.storyworth.com Platform/website to privately record your family stories and have them printed in a book form at the end of a year. You select a family member (i.e., great-grandfather) and the company emails him a question once a week for him to tell a story. The questions may be tailored to stories you want to collect. At the end of the year — a book! $89 or so to begin.
8. Free Virtual Genealogy Conferences – RootsTech – https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/next
Legacy Tree Webinars – https://www.familytreewebinars.com/
You might also check Allen County Public Library, Indiana State Library, BYU (Brigham Young University) Family History webinars
9. Autosomal DNA – Most accurate for only five to six generations back. Cox prefers Ancestry.com, but there are others. Ancestry has ‘thru lines’ which connects unknown people to people on your tree. You can better follow how they are related.
10. Forensic Genetic Genealogy – DNA Doe Project — https://www.dnadoeproject.org/ - using DNA to identify suspects or victims of crimes. Parabon Nanolabs are one of the leaders in the field.
Those attending the meeting thoroughly enjoyed Cox’s informative program.
Next, Hudson had everyone review the minutes from the January meeting. One correction noted for the spelling of Moore’s name. No ‘e’ on Dian. Judy Harvey moved to accept the minutes as corrected. Mary Cramer seconded. Approved by vote. The November minutes have not been reviewed yet.
Treasurer’s Report — Three new members. Report reviewed. Moore moved, and Mary Cramer seconded to accept the report. Approved by vote.
Old Business: No report on the Bible Project, and no report on 4-H.
Committee Reports:
Activities — the program calendar is almost full for the rest of the year. Next month’s meeting — March 8 — will be a celebration of our 20th anniversary. Hopefully many members may attend.
Membership — Twenty-six individual members and two families currently.
Nominating — We need a secretary upon the resignation of Carolyn Perkins. Anyone who has been a member for at least a year is eligible. If willing to take the secretary position, contact Terri Fyffe or Hudson.
Newsletter — Handed out current edition
20th Anniversary — Program set, discussed refreshments and a memorial listing/moment for members who have passed.
No Reports – Grants, Public Information, Cemetery
Refreshments List – no discussion as we are not having refreshments currently. There was no correspondence.
There being no further business, Judy Harvey moved, and Cramer seconded to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned.
Upcoming programs: Jeanie Regan Dinius on Cemetery Symbols, April 12 ; Kate Springer, Indiana State Library on Historical Census questionnaires, June 14; Christmas in July, July 12; Susan McKee Fisher, Dorothy Q Chapter, NSDAR on How to Join a Lineage Society, Aug. 9; and annual meeting, Sept. 13.
