New Basic Genealogy Support Group Starting Up

Come join us, and learn to be a better family genealogist. Bring your questions or problems about your family tree, specific software or websites. We will solve it together.

Some people have very specific reasons for tracing their family tree. Others jump into family history research without giving it much thought, some want to include their family & children in the process. Knowing why people research their ancestors can be a source of inspiration and support for genealogists. This can be particularly important when the inevitable roadblocks and brick walls become a factor. What motivates the broader genealogy community is also helpful in understanding the future direction of ancestral research.

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“Success is where preparation met opportunity.” – Neil Armstrong

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Ancestry.com lays off 6% of its workforce

Ancestry, the largest seller of at-home DNA tests for health and genealogy reports, is laying off about 100 people, approximately 6% of its total workforce. The cuts hit employees across the board, rather than focusing on a specific department, and included workers at all levels. The layoffs affected both its Utah and California offices.

Ancestry confirmed the layoffs and shared a copy of a blog post written by CEO and President Margo Georgiadis that will publish on Wednesday.

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We just discussed 23andMe laying of 100 employees (14%) of it’s employees at our DNA discussion group today. Then this appears in my news feed. It is like “catching”, I guess.

Interesting Stats:

23andMe, 100 = 14% of 714 employees, leaving 614.

Ancestry, 100 = 6% of 1,666 employees, leaving 1,566.

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Who is next?

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“Genealogist’s motto: they can hide, but they can’t run.”

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DNA Discusssions – Feb 5, 2020

23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki (pronounced “Woh-JIS-key”) announced last week that the company is laying off 14% of its staff amid an industry-wide decline in sales of consumer DNA tests that has driven several companies in the industry toward other endeavors.

23andMe, like FTDNA, do not charge an annual “maintenance” fee. Ancestry and MyHeritage do charge big annuals fees. Given that the Pentagon has come out against at-home DNA testing (could it be that people in high places have something to hide?) and given that ethnicity reports haven’t been all that accurate, what does the future hold for those of us who have already tested? Tune in next week for the rest of the story. 🙂

Meanwhile, our very own DNA Discussion group had already decided to concentrate on 23andMe during the next session. Join us Wednesday, February 5th as Terry Jackson shares some of his experiences at 23andMe.

If you have tested with 23andMe or are considering it, we meet at 12 noon at the FHC in the Library. We would like to hear from you, too.

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” The Internet is making smart people smarter and dumb people dumber.” – Kevin Drum

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Family History Event

Monthly Calendar – February 2020

Monthly Meeting – February 6, 2020 – “History of Lands and Houses” by Kathy Nielsen

Ever wondered about the history the houses and the land where your ancestor lived? Curious about the history of you own home? Every place where you and your ancestors lived, loved, cried, and may have died has a story to tell. Every person or family has left their mark on their homes; just as these homes have left their mark on those who lived there. The census, directories, maps, deeds, wills, newspapers, photos, and local histories help us discover insights into our family histories. Join Kathy Nielsen as she guides you on a journey into your past, to where your family and ancestors lived. She will show you how she searched for information about the homes of some of her ancestors and for information about her own home, connecting the past with the present.

Kathy Nielsen is a Reference Librarian in the California History Room at Monterey Public Library. She earned a BA in History at Univ. of CA, Berkeley, and a MA in History at Hunter College, City Univ. of NY. After teaching history in high school and middle School, she returned to U.C.Berkeley and obtained a Masters in Library Science. She has shared her adventures with Monterey Public Library, Carmel Public Library, MoCoGenSo, Santa Cruz Genealogical Society, Gentrain, OLLI, and DAR Ancestor Round-Up. Kathy combines her skills as an historian, a storyteller, and a librarian with her love for travel and her search for her family’s history.

Doors open at 6:15 pm, the meeting starts at 7:00 pm. We’ll see you at the Family History Center, 1024 Noche Buena, Seaside, CA., left rear of building.

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” I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” – Jorge Luis Borges

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Tom Price’s Life Celebration

The obituary of Tom Price has been published in the Monterey Herald today. CLICK HERE
to read the full obit.

There will be a Celebration of Life for Tom held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, February 1, 2020, at Cementario El Encinal, 798 Fremont Street, Monterey, CA 93940.

Tom was the Archivist/Historian for the Monterey County Genealogical Society. He loved travel and he enjoyed talking about traveling with genealogy in mind. In 2008 he presented at one of our monthly meetings about preparing for his “Dream Trip”. I enjoyed it enough to get copies of the presentation a few years later. You can get a copy here. DREAM TRIP

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