Monthly Meeting – August 6, 2020 – “Living History: Monterey County Historical Society” by James Perry via Zoom

“History is Fragile. Memories fade. Writings are lost…and relics crumble. Historians serve best when they can preserve yesterday-today.”

This statement was made on Dec. 22, 1933 during an afternoon gathering at the residence of Florence Baker, Granddaughter of the first Mayor of Salinas, CA. The statement caused discussion among the group which led them on that day to establish the Monterey County Historical Society. This past, Present and future of the Monterey County Historical Society (MCHS) is as fascinating as the collections it stewards. James Perry, Director of MCHS will take us upon a journey spanning over 8 decades chronicling community efforts toward the collection and preservation of our regional history. He will review the history of MCHS, the acquisition of the historic Jose Eusebio Boronda Adobe, present project development initiatives and future build-out plans of the Boronda Adobe History Center. In addition, James will review the critical need for historical organizations in our region to come together as partners in order to assure that the past continues to be preserved for future generations.

James Perry has a M.A. in Museum Studies with an emphasis on Collections Management and Public History. He has served as Curator of Collections and Exhibits for the Valdez Museum and Historical Archive in Valdez, Alaska as well as the Museum of the Aleutians in Dutch Harbor, AK. Locally, he has served as consultant to various organizations for special project initiatives, including the City of Carmel-by-the sea, the Royal Presidio Chapel and Missions Carmel, San Juan Bautista, Soledad, and San Antonio de Padua. He has served the Monterey County Historical Society in various capacities since 1990, and is currently the Executive Director.

The Zoom meeting will start at 7:00 pm sharp. For security reasons, the meeting will be by invitation only. If you are not a member and wish to attend, send an email with your email address to our Membership VP, Marilyn Ruccello .

If you are not familiar with Zoom, click here.

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”The older I get, the better I look in a mask!” – pandemic 2020

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National Ice Cream Day

In 1984, July was proclaimed as National Ice Cream Month and National Ice Cream Day was declared to be the third Sunday in July.

This year July 19th is the day to splurge! Treat yourself, have a scoop (or two). This year especially, it seems to be deserving.

🙂

AncestryDNA Changes

AncestryDNA is making some changes to their matching system and will be updating their database in the coming days.  Debbie Kennett, at her scholarly blog called Cruwys news has outlined the changes from her viewpoint. You can visit her blog from the top at

cruwys.blogspot.com

A direct link to this particular post will always be found:

CLICK HERE

Quoting from the end of Debbie’s current post:

“In other news AncestryDNA’s corporate page has been updated to show that they have now tested 18 million people. AncestryDNA now have by far the largest genetic genealogy database in the world. 23andMe is the next largest with a database of 12 million people. MyHeritage have 4 million people in their database, while FamilyTreeDNA have tested over two million people.”

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“People began to fixate on individual liberties without understanding that one of the most fundamental civil liberties in the US is the right to health – the right to stay alive.” – Lee Riley

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Genealogy Rules

From Genealogy’s Star / by James Tanner

Many thanks to genealogysstar.blogspot.com

Go to the great blog for a deeper explanation of these rules.

• Rule One: When the baby was born, the mother was there.
• Rule Two: Absence of an obituary or death record does not mean the person is still alive.
• Rule Three: Every person who ever lived has a unique birth order and a unique set of biological parents.
• Rule Four: There are always more records.
• Rule Five: You cannot get blood out of a turnip.
• Rule Six: Records move.
• Rule Seven: Water and genealogical information flow downhill
• Rule Eight: Everything in genealogy is connected (butterfly)
• Rule Nine: There are patterns everywhere
• Rule Ten: Read the fine print
• Rule Eleven: Even a perfect fit can be wrong
• Rule Twelve: The end is always there
• Rule Thirteen: Genealogists abhor a blank field

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” You’re entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts.” – Daniel Patrick Moynihan

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DNA Painter WATO Beta V 2

is a great website that has lots of tools, most are usable with a free account. We have discussed parts of it here before.

Last week at our DNA Discussion group meeting, we had show-n-tells about various parts of DNA Painter by Terry Jackson and myself. I enjoyed Terry’s display of the new WATO Beta package so much that I decided to subscribe to the site so I could use it. A subscription only costs $5 per month, a bit less if you opt for 1 year.

The WATO Beta lets you upload a Gedcom to build your Wato tree! The Beta includes birthdate and gender as part of the logic. And there is an option to generate hypothesis. Watch out though, this option tends to create more hypothesis than are realistic. You can easily delete pointless ones!

Because I am a subscriber now, I can build multiple Wato trees. For the puzzle I am working on, I have created Wato trees for multiple potential ancestors (they are related in that their descendants join somewhere). Hopefully they will all point to the same hypothesis.

You can read the DNA Geek blog post about this Wato Beta update: CLICK HERE.

For other reviews about DNA Painter and Wato, check out these documents recommended by Terry Jackson:

Leah Larkin’s lecture at Rootstech 2020
CLICK HERE.

Andrew Millard’s presentation at Genetic Genealogy Ireland in 2019
CLICK HERE.

Video tutorial by Andy Lee
CLICK HERE.

Jonny Perl’s Legacy Family Tree Webinar June 3, 2020
CLICK HERE.

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” If I had listened to customers, I would have gone out looking for faster horses.” – Henry Ford

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Downloading a GEDCOM from Ancestry and using it elsewhere

Roberta Estes has written a useful post on her blog DNAeXplained about how to download a GEDCOM from your Ancestry.com tree and then uploading it to other sites; includes uploading to FTDNA, MyHeritage and GedMatch.

This is a very good how-to if you have never done this. See the post here:

Download Your Ancestry Tree and Upload It Elsewhere for Added Benefit

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Free Online Consultations by FamilySearch

Jo Ann Robinson, Director of the local Monterey California Family History Center, reminded us the other day about a service provided by the Salt Lake City Family History Library. Quoting from her:

In these challenging times, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City is making it a bit easier for you to find your ancestors. They are offering free, 20-minute consultations to help you with your personal research questions, using Microsoft Teams for remote meetings.

Click Here to find out how to use this service: FHL WIKI

The Wiki article provides videos about using Microsoft Teams. It is pretty easy. If you are having trouble with a persnickety ancestor, give it a try.

See other ways you can get assistance at the: Family History Guide

DNA Discussion Group Meets on Wednesday July 1 at Noon via Zoom

is one of the most useful “tools” in the genetic genealogy arena. If you are really interesting in using DNA as a way to help grow your ancestral tree, then you need to learn to use parts of this site. Many/most of it’s tools are free.

There are Trees, Tools, and Chromosome Mapping!

Our DNA Discussion group has decided to concentrate on DNA Painter during the next few sessions. Join us Wednesday, July 1st as Terry Jackson shares some of his experiences at DNA Painter. We will continue into future sessions for as long as it takes….

Remember, this is a DNA discussion group for all levels. Come join the crowd.

The Zoom meeting will start at 12:00 noon sharp. For security reasons, the meeting invitation will be by posted on this site the day before the meeting. If you are already a “follower” here, you will receive the invitation by email. If not, you can return here in the afternoon before the meeting.

If you are not familiar with Zoom, click here.

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”Did you know that you share at least one ancestor with everyone who belongs to the same haplogroup as you?” – 23andMe

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Genographic Final Notice



National Geographic | IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR GENOGRAPHIC PROJECT CUSTOMERS

Irish Archives – free webinar

Free BCG-Sponsored Webinar
Tuesday, June 16, 8 p.m. Eastern
“Genealogical Treasures in Irish Archives”
by David Ouimette, CG, CGL

An enormous variety of Irish manuscripts tell the stories of our ancestors. Parish registers, census returns, Griffith’s Valuation, and civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths provide a great beginning for Irish family history research. However, a careful search of record repositories in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom reveals many more Irish archives of great worth. These include collections of estate papers, tenement and townland valuations, valuation revision books, tithe applotments, poor law registers, vestry minutes, ordinance survey maps, deeds and memorials, National School registers, militia lists, electoral rolls, Petty Sessions court registers, Irish Reproductive Loan Fund records, outrage papers, and much more. This presentation highlights the value of these Irish records, where they are found, and fruitful research strategies.

The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) in conjunction with Legacy Family Tree will present “Genealogical Treasures in Irish Archives” by David Ouimette, CG, live and free to the public, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, June 16, 2020. In order to accommodate those who might have schedule conflicts, the webinar may be accessed at no charge for one week after the broadcast on our partner website Legacy Family Tree Webinars (https://familytreewebinars.com/).

David Ouimette, CG, CGL, manages Content Strategy at FamilySearch, prioritizing records of genealogical value worldwide for digital preservation and online publication. David has researched in hundreds of archives in over sixty countries spanning all continents. A Trustee for the Board for Certification of Genealogists and former board member of the National Genealogical Society, he authored Finding Your Irish Ancestors: A Beginner’s Guide.

President LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG, CGL, says, “Every month the Board for Certification of Genealogists offers a new webinar as part of an ongoing series that supports our mission to provide education for family historians. These webinars are presented by certified associates and offer a quality genealogical educational experience. The board promotes excellence in research and working to standards in an ethical manner.”

Register for “Genealogical Treasures in Irish Archives” by David Ouimette, CG, CGL, before June 16, 2020. BCG receives a commission if you register by clicking our affiliate link: http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=2619.  To see and register for the full list of BCG-sponsored webinars for 2020, visit the BCG blog SpringBoard at: https://bcgcertification.org/bcg-2020-free-webinars/.

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