Let's Get You Started !!!

 

Has the genealogy bug hit? If you're considering your family's genealogy, here are some great steps to begin your journey !!

📚 Step 1: Start with What You Know

• Begin with yourself and work backward.
• Record names, birth/marriage/death dates, and places.
• Talk to relatives—they’re goldmines of information! Ask for family Bibles, old photos, documents, obits, and stories.

Tip: Use a pedigree chart or family group sheet to keep track of names/dates.

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🌐 Step 2: Use Free Online Tools First

Start with free resources before diving into subscriptions:

• FamilySearch.org (by the LDS Church) – Completely free, with a huge global database.
• FindAGrave.com – Gravestone photos, cemetery records, sometimes obits or family links.
• USGenWeb.org – State and county-level genealogical projects, often overlooked but super helpful.

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🧭 Step 3: Use Paid Sites If Needed

These are worth it if you hit a wall or need to dig deeper:

• Ancestry.com – Massive database of census records, military, immigration, and more.
• MyHeritage.com – Great for international records.
• Newspapers.com – Fantastic for obituaries and old news clippings.
• Fold3.com – Military records and history.

Pro Tip: Libraries and Family History Centers often give free access to these paid databases.

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🧬 Step 4: Consider DNA Testing

If you’re curious about biological lines or have brick walls:

• AncestryDNA or 23andMe – Huge databases and strong cousin-matching tools.
• FamilyTreeDNA – Good for deeper Y-DNA and mtDNA analysis.
• GEDmatch – Upload raw DNA from any site to find matches across platforms.

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🗂️ Step 5: Organize Your Findings

Use software or online trees to stay organized:

• Family Tree Maker
• RootsMagic
• Gramps (free and open-source)
• Or build your tree online with Ancestry, MyHeritage, or FamilySearch.

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🕵️‍♀️ Step 6: Focus on One Branch at a Time

Once you hit a roadblock, move to another family line. You’d be surprised how solving one branch opens up another.

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🌍 Step 7: Go Local

• Courthouses, churches, cemeteries, and local historical societies have treasure troves of documents.
• Join a local genealogy society—they often have member-only databases and experienced researchers to help.

 

Genealogy Tip: The Genealogy Fingerprint

Genealogy Research Tip: In my genealogy classes I teach that one of the cornerstones for laying a good foundation in any family history research is the birth event. It is one of the most important life events that we should research in documenting anyone's life.

For instance, what makes you unique is that you are born on a definitive month, day, and year; at a specific geographic location; given a birth name by your parents; and are the child of a set of specific biological parents.

Do you know anyone else in the world that has your date of birth and birth location and the same full name? Of course, you don't. In order to extend a person into a previous generation (i.e., parents) we need to get the birth event information right. I call this the "genealogy fingerprint. "

When researching your family if you lock any part of or all that information in, that will then help you sort out your John Smith from the rest of the John Smiths in a specific community.

Another consideration that I just thought about for the birth life event is that a child born at a specific location means the mother was also at that location at the time of the birth. But it does not necessarily mean that the father was there at that same time. You cannot assume that the father was present at the birth or even in the same town. In fact, you also cannot assume the father was even alive at the time of the birth.

TCCC Peachtree Spring 2023 Genealogy Classes

 

TCCC Peachtree Spring 2023 Genealogy Classes

Here is a list of the Spring Community Enrichment genealogy classes scheduled to be taught at Tri-County Community College in Peachtree, NC for 2023.

To reserve your seat in class or sign-up call Lisa Long at 828-835-4241. Sorry, no remote learning for these classes is available, in-class learning only.

Genealogy – Searching for Your Ancestors: Who am I and where did I come from? It is that intriguing question that has made genealogy research one of America's most popular hobbies. This popular class offers beginner and experienced genealogists alike a fresh approach to genealogy research. Subjects cover the full gambit from organizing your research to exploring your family history using traditional and electronic research, social media, and our newest tool, DNA testing. Whether you are new to genealogy or have been family hunting since microfilm days, this course will assist you in researching your family in the 21st century. This course is a prerequisite for advanced genealogy courses offered at TCCC. 30 hrs.

Instructor: Van Horn Classroom: Enloe Room 133

January 31 – April 18 Tuesday

6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. $80

Genealogy – Researching Your Genealogy on the Internet: An old favorite is back on the schedule! The Internet offers the genealogist a wonderful array of databases, records, and other resources for researching your family history. This course will teach you how to find genealogy databases and discover your family history on the Web. All the top sites such as Ancestry, FamilySearch, GenealogyBank, Chronicling America, Find A Grave, and more will be covered. While our beginner/intermediate genealogy class is not a prerequisite to taking this course, a basic understanding of genealogy research principles is a must. A laptop or tablet capable of wireless internet access is required for this class. Sign up early since this is one of the more popular genealogy classes at TCCC and seating is limited. 10 hrs.

Instructor: Van Horn Classroom: Enloe Room 133

February 2 – February 23 Thursday

6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. $35

NEW - DNA Beginner/Intermediate: If you are researching your family history, taking an autosomal DNA test has become a must-do task. There is a myriad of companies and sites that you can either test at or upload your DNA results to that will help you find new cousins and add new ancestors to that family tree. This class will explore the basics (including all three DNA tests), where to test, and working your results after you have tested. 7.5 hrs.

Instructor: Van Horn Classroom: Enloe Room 133

March 2 – March 16 Thursday

6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. $25

NEW - Genealogy – Busting Through Genealogy Brick Walls: Having trouble finding the elusive ancestor? Can't seem to get that lineage any further back? Then this class is tailor-made for you. In this genealogy brick wall class, you will learn techniques, tricks, tips, and the latest proven methods to bust through the brick walls in your genealogy. During the class, you will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with the instructor on your family genealogy brick wall. 12.5 hrs.

Instructor: Van Horn Classroom: Enloe Room 133

March 23 – April 20 Thursday

6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. $40

 

Only 1 More Year to the Release of the 1950 U.S. Census

 In case you didn't see this, from Dick Eastman's newsletter:

Only 1 More Year to the Release of the 1950 U.S. Census

The 1950 Census of the United States will be released for public inspection on Friday, April 1, 2022. Mark that date on your calendar.

The method of the release has not yet been announced. Will all the records be released online at once on April 1st? Or will the records be released over a period of several days or weeks? I don't believe that has been announced yet but I bet there are committee meetings going on now that are formulating those plans!

Link to the entire article at https://www.eogn.com/page-18080/10235334.

FREE Tool Do the Location Work for You as You Search on Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org

Here is something you might have missed. From Dick Eastman's newsletter and for Chrome users.

The prolific Randy Majors has released still another software tool that will aid genealogists as they research online. Here is his announcement:

U.S. county boundaries have changed over 17,600 times since America was settled in colonial times. Don’t sabotage your search for ancestors by not knowing the correct county for the historical years you are researching.

While searching on Ancestry or FamilySearch, the free Historical U.S. Counties Auto-Checker extension for Google Chrome automatically checks that the county existed in the year you are searching, warns of boundary changes, and links to historical county lines on Google Maps for the place and years you are searching!

Install for free today and never let an ancestor fall of the map again!

For a step-by-step example of how the tool works, check out this post:  Ancestor fall off the map? Use this FREE Chrome extension for Ancestry or FamilySearch to find them!

Note, this is the first version of this tool, so if you find any bugs or issues, please contact me on the form on the lower left side of this page.  And if you find it useful, please leave a rating or review on the chrome web store.

Announcing the 1950 Census Project for the Morse One-Step Site

Article below courtesy of Dick Eastman. The 1950 Federal Census will be released on April 1, 2022 (72 year rule). We are a little under 2 years now from its release.

Joel Weintraub has announced a major new addition that he created for Stephen Morse’s One-Step Webpages site: the 1950 Census Project includes 230,000 plus 1950 Enumeration Districts’ definitions transcribed and searchable, an additional 79,000 small urban/rural names added to the definitions, and over 2,400 city street indexes for most cities over 5,000 in population.

The work was performed by was done with Steve Morse, Joel Weintraub, and under 80 volunteers. All of this is online at https://stevemorse.org/ right now.

THE 1950 CENSUS FORM ASKED WHERE RESPONDENTS WERE BORN AND WHETHER THEY WERE NATURALIZED.

Bad News: SB 372 Passes Georgia’s Legislature

Article courtesy of the Dick Eastman newletter. The following was written by Jan Meisels Allen, Chairperson of the IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee:

On June 18, 2020, the Georgia House of Representatives passed SB 372 by a vote of 157 to 2. In March, the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 52-0. Despite letters from the genealogical community to House Committee and leadership the Georgia Legislature seemed unwavering in their determination to enact a provision in their public health and modernization bill with the NAPHSIS advocated embargo periods. The bill changes the birth records embargo from 100 years to 125 years and death, marriage and divorce records from 75 years to 100 years.

To read the bill see: http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20192020/192099.pdf. See: Section 5 line 140

The governor only has a line-item veto on budget issues: “The authority of Georgia’s governor to veto specific line item expenditures in appropriation acts while approving the remainder of the act. An item veto can only be used for appropriations and is overridden in the same manner as an ordinary veto.”

http://www.legis.ga.gov/Joint/LegCounsel/Documents/Legislative_Terms_associated_with_GA_General_Assembly.pdf

Another state with absolute ignorance of genealogy research. So moving birth records to 125 years gets you what in the way of identity thief security? Oh yea, nothing. ditto on death, marriage and divorce records now out to 100 years. Almost as stupid as the Oklahoma legislature passing a law saying the only person that could request a death certificate was, wait for it, the deceased. Politicians have to be the dumbest and most corrupt group of people on the planet. 

Genetic Genealogy Used To Crack Golden State Killer Case Opened Door For More Than 150 Cold Cases

Article courtesy of Dick Eastman at https://blog.eogn.com/2020/06/30/genetic-genealogy-used-to-crack-golden-state-killer-case-opened-door-for-more-than-150-cold-cases/

Here is a brief quote from a new article by Julie Watts and published on Sacramento’s CBS13 web site:

“It’s estimated that more than 150 violent cold case suspects have been identified using genetic genealogy since the arrest of the Golden State Killer.

“The technology wasn’t new, but the Sacramento case opened the door for genealogy crime-fighting nationwide.”

The article then goes on to provide various details as well as some quotes from Parabon’s Chief Genetic Genealogist, Cece Moore. You can read more at: https://cbsloc.al/31u4w16.

BTW. I really do like CeCe Moore's new show on ABC The Genetic Detective Tuesday nights at 10 PM EDT. It is well done and shows the power of DNA in all forms of genealogy research. If you haven't tested your DNA and those of your relatives, you are really missing the boat.

I Have My Family Tree Back to Adam and Eve”

I can't resist posting this. Those of you who have taken my classes in the past know how I feel about these claims. Don't take my word for it. Here is the word from some scholars who have examined the various claimed trees. Thanks to Dick Eastman and his column at https://blog.eogn.com/2020/07/01/i-have-my-family-tree-back-to-adam-and-eve/

Dick Eastman · July 1, 2020 · Genealogy Basics · 15 Comments

This is another bit of fiction that needs to be wiped out. I have often heard people (I won’t call them “genealogists”) at various times make the claim they have traced their family tree back to Adam and Eve. Of course, the “documentation” is always sketchy.

Robert C. Gunderson was a Senior Royalty Research Specialist, of the Church Genealogical Department, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). He was an expert in medieval genealogy and started the Royalty Identification Unit in 1972. He passed away in 2003. However, before his death, Gunderson once was asked if such research was possible. He replied:

“The simplest answer is No. Let me explain. In thirty-five years of genealogical research, I have yet to see a pedigree back to Adam that can be documented. By assignment, I have reviewed hundreds of pedigrees over the years. I have not found one where each connection on the pedigree can be justified by evidence from contemporary documents. In my opinion it is not even possible to verify historically a connected European pedigree earlier than the time of the Merovingian Kings (c. a.d. 450–a.d. 752).

“Every pedigree I have seen which attempts to bridge the gap between that time and the biblical pedigree appears to be based on questionable tradition, or at worst, plain fabrication. Generally these pedigrees offer no evidence as to the origin of the information, or they cite a vague source.”

François Weil, a former director of studies (professor) at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris and currently a State Councilor, is another expert in medieval pedigrees who agrees. Weil provides authoritative answers to these questions in his book Family Trees: A History of Genealogy in America (2013) published by Harvard University Press.

Both Gunderson and Weil agreed: European royal pedigrees cannot be verified before the 500s A.D.

To learn more, read:

Family Trees: A History of Genealogy in America. By François Weil. Published by Harvard University Press, Online bookstore; 2013. ISBN 9780674045835. 320 pp. Indexes. Hardcover. $27.95. http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674045835 or available on Amazon as a hardcover book at https://amzn.to/2BloHUu.

DAR to now allow all 3 DNA to be used in the App Process.

This is very interesting news if you are a member or want to be a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). At this point, I do not have any more specifics to share other than what Katherine Borges (an ISOGG Admin) posted to the ISOGG FB newsgroup. If this is true, So they will now allow the trifecta of DNA testing (YDNA, Autosomal DNA (atDNA), and Mitochondrial (mtDNA) to be part of the DAR application process. Sorry, I don't have any additional details but I will be looking into this. it looks like I may be a bit busy wearing my genetic genealogy hat in the coming months. This is if this virus relents enough to let me go on the road or in my Tri-County Community College genetic genealogy classes.

Here is that post

Katherine Borges is at DAR Continental Congress.

Admin · Washington D.C.

DISCLAIMER: While I’ve been a DAR member for 20 years this year, I do not speak on behalf of the DAR, represent it, or am involved with their policymaking. I’m just a past chapter regent who is enjoying DAR’s online Continental Congress.

BIG NEWS FROM DAR: As you may have heard or seen posted on Facebook, DAR announced at the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) conference last August 2019 that they would be expanding their DNA policy to include autosomal DNA, and now they’ve included mitochondrial DNA as well! Quite emphatic (and rightly so IMHO) that it’s just another tool to prove lineage and needs to be used with other source docs. If you have questions about this, please direct them to DAR (preferably after Congress I’d imagine!) And if you are a DAR member, be sure to watch the DAR’s DNA presentation that’s in today’s CC agenda.

I also quite like this new emblem! I have quite a few DNA projects at Family Tree DNA with applicable patriot lines. I’d also like to see this on WikiTree.

How to determine cousin relationships the easy way

For the readers of my Family Your Roots newspaper genealogy column, here are two cousin relationship charts that may help you visualize what I described in my column.

Click on this image to enlarge

Here is another cousin relationship chart that may help you visualize your cousin relationships.