Monday, July 18, 2011

Genealogy Webinars

Webinars (WEB semINARS) are online seminars, and genealogy webinars have become incredibly popular. It's easy to see why. You can learn from some of the biggest names in Genealogy while attending in the comfort of your home.

Legacy Family Tree is one of the leading webinar providers. You can attend their FREE live events or view the archived presentations. . Some of the biggest names in genealogy have presented in the Legacy Webinars including Thomas MacEntee, Karen Clifford, Lisa Alzo, DearMYRTLE, and Maureen Taylor.

Here are some of the upcoming webinars that you can sign up for and they are all FREE
  • Google Images and Beyond
  • Organizing for Success
  • Newspapers for Genealogists: Using GenealogyBank.com to document every day of your ancestors' lives
  • Best Internet Resources for African American Genealogy.
  • Watch Geoff Live: Adding a Census Record.
  • Facebook for Genealogists.
  • Researching Your Connecticut Ancestors.
  • Uncovering your Irish Family History.
Archived Webinars are also available at Legacy Family Tree.  Scroll down to find the archived webinars

Friday, July 01, 2011

FREE Sons of American Revolution Records for July 4

In honor of Independence Day,  Ancestry.com launched the Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, a collection of more than one million applications from men with a direct link to either a supporter or participant in the fight for United States independence during the 18th century.   This collection is FREE through July 4th.

Like its well-known sister organization, The Daughters of the American Revolution, also available through Ancestry.com, the Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications contain  handwritten historical information that can take a family back through two centuries of history.

The applications contain references to Revolutionary War pension files, documented family and local histories, family Bible records, deeds, court documents, census records and typically include a short summary of the ancestor's service.

In celebration of America's Independence, Ancestry.com invites the public to discover proof of their own link to the founders of freedom by searching in the Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 for free during a long weekend of access, Thursday, June 30th through Monday, July 4th. To begin searching users can visit Free Sons of American Revolution.

I have one ancestor, John Fertig, who was in the Chester Co, PA militia during the Revolutionary War. Searching for him in this database, I got 725 hits and found the names of previously unknown-to-me distant cousins with their lineage on these applications.  I'm still examining the records to see what else I can find.

I also have a 5th great uncle who was denied a Revoltionary War pension, yet his descendants were accepted into the Sons of the Revolution.  Interesting.