The Villages Genealogical Society
Welcome to The Villages
Genealogical Society
Promoting and stimulating knowledge and interest
in the study of genealogy


Live Virtual Broadcasts

The Villages Genealogical Society sponsors live virtual broadcast presentations as part of your membership.  Here you can learn about these live events, presenter bio's and how to register.  Upcoming Presentations...


Annual Seminar Registration

Friday, February 22
Our 19th Annual All-Day Seminar
9:00 am to 3:30 pm
Savannah Regional Recreation Center
Our guest speaker will be David E. Rencher, AG,CG,FIGRS,FUGA
 




FTM Conference Update

Animated Gig
2109 Family Tree Maker Conference
On a cold Thursday January 31, 2019, we had a wonderful visit from the folks at MacKiev Software, producers of Family Tree Maker 2017 Software.  Three - 3 hour sessions were full of eager members wanting to learn more about the software and other products that work along-side of Family Tree Maker.  Maureen Taylor, "the Photo Detective" was the keynote speaker.  Besides talking about different types of pictures that may be found of our ancestors, she talked about the photo darkroom that is part of Family Tree Maker 2017.  There were also presentations on using Family Tree Maker, using the Charting Companion 7 software and using the plug-in Family Book Creator. Many members left the conference with new software that was available for purchase at a discount.


January Monthly Meeting Update

Meeting Room Overview
January 2019 General Monthly Meeting
On Wednesday January 23, 2019, we had 325 members in attendance an another 50 tuning in via the internet. Today's guest speaker was Diahan Southard via a live webinar.  Here well received presentation was "3 Ways To Find Your Best DNA Matches"
  1. Mine Your Ethnicity Results For Clues
  2. Use The Genealogy Tools Provided
  3. Use The Shared Matches Tool
​She pointed out that your ethnicity results have three components: Reference Populations, Fancy Math, and Time.  That means that if a particular company doesn't have a good representation of the population you come from, they are going to have a difficult time providing a good result for you.
The Handout is now online and the Webinar will be available online soon. "Members Only" > "Webinar & Meetings"


VGS Receives the NGS Gold Star Award

Read the Letter from C. Ann Staley, Conference Chair, to President Lannin:
Comments from our members attending the Conference can be read HERE


“Admission to meetings of The Villages Genealogy Society is limited to
VGS members and paid guests.”


COMING EVENTS
Thursday, Feb. 21st
12:00 pm
New England Genealogy SIG Meeting
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Friday, Feb. 22nd
9:00 am
Our 19th Annual All-Day Seminar
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Monday, Feb. 25th
10:00 am
Technology SIG Meeting
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Tuesday, Feb. 26th
2:00 pm
Midwest SIG Meeting
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Wednesday, Feb. 27th
RootsTech Salt Lake City 2019
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Facts
Source: Original This source is in its first recorded form. (ie: the original marriage record license)
[Sources & Evidence]
By the time you have collected data on a couple hundred of your relatives, you will realize that genealogy software would make keeping track of relationships within your tree, filing data about individuals, and generating reports much easier. The Society has a special interest group that discusses Family Tree Maker software. Compare features before selecting the software best for you.
[Basic Genealogy]
Remember to source (document) everything you find on your ancestors. Undocumented genealogy is mythology. Most genealogy software will get you through the basics, Elizabeth Shown Mills has authored several very good books on the subject.
[Sources & Evidence]
Names for causes of death have changed over time. Try to match the old name with the current medical name.
[Vital Records]
An acre is a square measure of land containing 10 square chains, 160 square rods, or 43,560 square feet.
[Land Records]
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