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Bucks County
Genealogical Society
April 2016 Newsletter
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President's Message
To all BCGS members and friends:
Spring has finally burst into bloom! With it come ideas for new beginnings and adventures. After the doldrums of winter, you may find new energy to dig for more information on your ancestors. Because genealogy is a language all of its own, you may need some education so you can make good use of the research process. So you may ask "Where do I start?"
In this issue of the newsletter, you have two sources for education. Thomas MacEntee, a nationally known genealogist and blogger, has been kind enough to share his article about using Facebook as a research tool. Another article by Ted Bainbridge shares links to lineage societies. If your family has been in America for a long time, you may qualify for one of these societies.
BucksGen board member Cathy Ivins and I have put together a list of Educational Opportunities, which is posted in the Member files on the Members-only page. All links are active, so if you access it on your computer, the links will take you to each of the sites mentioned. You, of course, can print it out or download it to your own computer for future use.
For those persons not so tech savvy, some explanation is in order. Podcasts are audio recordings on genealogy topics presented in a conversational mode. Blogs are articles written by genealogy experts, like Judy Russell. Many are written daily or weekly and they can be emailed to you. Webinars are classes either recorded or live that present topics both in video and audio and often involve Power Point presentations. There are also online courses more suited to those who want to be professional genealogists.
If you find a full email box overwhelming, you may consider consolidating your podcasts, blogs and newsletters by using an app called Feedly. Once you have an account you can ask it to look for genealogy topics and subscribe to them. This RSS feed puts all your articles in one place and you can read them on line, on smart phones or tablets.
Each educational offering is presented in a style all its own. You may like some, and not others. So try a bit of each until you find what suits you. By summer just think of how knowledgeable you will be. Enjoy!
Mary C. Butash, President
Bucks County Genealogical Society
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Join us for our next meeting on
Saturday, May 7, 2016
10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
at the David Library of the American Revolution
1201 River Road, Washington Crossing, PA
(Park behind the building and use the Conference Center entrance)
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THE ANCESTOR DEEP-DIVE: HOW YOU CAN FIND OUT EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR ANCESTOR
Presented by Tammy Hepps
Too often our research is driven by sources. We look for an ancestor in all the sources we've heard about, and we only break new ground when we hear about new ones. How do we assess how comprehensive our search has been? How do we know if we're even on the right path to get the answers we long for? This presentation will teach a methodology for creating a research plan centered on the discoveries we want to make, not just the sources we think we are limited to.
About the speaker:
Tammy is the creator of Treelines.com and past winner of the RootsTech Innovator Challenge. She is recognized for her fresh perspective on combining creative research, cutting-edge technology, and meaningful storytelling to make family history more engaging.
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The meeting is open to the public and reservations are not needed. Cost is $5 for members and $10 for non-members.
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REFRESHMENTS ARE NEEDED!
If you are willing to get coffee at the Dunkin' Donuts in Washington Crossing, you will be reimbursed at the meeting. Please contact Marilyn Cook (so that we don't have too many folks bringing coffee) and to get directions. Marilyn is reached at 215-348-8956 or at [email protected]
If you bring donut holes, cookies, small muffins etc, your meeting fee will be discounted.
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We hope to see you at the NJ History Fair!
Saturday, May 14th from 11-5
Monmouth Battlefield Park
Rt 33, Manalapan, NJ
Featuring historic characters and programs, including an exhibit of Abraham Lincoln's casket.
Stop by the BCGS table!
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SEARCH THE BCGS DATABASE
Volunteers are still working on records to put them in a format that can be posted on our free, searchable database. We have 325,199 records online now. Check the site on a regular basis to see what is new; here is the link.
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Facebook: A Tool for Genealogy Research
©2016, copyright Thomas MacEntee. All rights reserved. For more
information, please visit High-Definition Genealogy at
http://hidefgen.com
At first glance, Facebook doesn't seem like a good fit for genealogy research. Yet, many genealogists and family historians are using the world's most popular social media platform to locate other researchers, post queries and lookups, and to harness the power of Facebook Pages and Groups.
Facebook, like many other websites, can be a distraction and time waster. However, with a little practice and a focused approach to using the site, you will be amazed at how much Facebook can help advance your research.
Facebook Overview
For purposes of this lecture, we won't be focusing on the basics of Facebook such as setting up an account, "friending" other users, etc. The assumption is that you already understand the basic features of Facebook such as how to post to and navigate to your Wall and your News Feed, how to send a Message, etc.
Our focus here will be using some of the basic features such as the Facebook Graph Search, Facebook Pages and Facebook Groups to help us locate even more information about our family history.
Using Facebook's Search Function for Genealogy
One of the most neglected features of Facebook by any user, not just genealogists, is the search function. By using strategic searches based on place names, surnames and more, you can find new information relevant to your family history research.
Facebook's Search field is located in the upper left corner. Enter your search criteria and click the magnifying glass icon to see search results.
- Use Facebook Graph Search: Create specialized and "compound searches" for not-so-obvious results. Example: enter "Friends who like genealogy" and a list of friends meeting the search criteria will appear. Key function words include "people" and "places."
- Explore ALL results: Click the magnifying glass icon at the top or bottom of the search results list. A new page will appear with results grouped by section in the Result Type sidebar on the left.
- Use See More option: Facebook limits the number of results shown for each section. Always click See more at the bottom of the results list.
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Links to Lineage Societies
If you can trace one of your ancestral lines far enough back in time, and if you have acceptable proof, you might be able to join a lineage society. Here are links to the most popular ones:
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants:
The Daughters of the American Revolution:
The Sons of the American Revolution:
First Families of Pennsylvania:
The Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution:
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War:
About Ted Bainbridge Ph.D.:
Ted has been a genealogical researcher, teacher, consultant, speaker, and writer since 1969. He grew up in Cumberland County PA and some of his ancestors lived in Bucks County. After retirement, he moved to Denver CO.
Ted has served as president of a genealogical society, an army officer, a corporate executive, and a college professor.
His genealogical and historical articles are published frequently by national, state, and county organizations.
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10th Annual Bucks County Ancestry Fair
Saturday, November 12, 2016
The Ancestry Fair Committee has met twice to start planning this event and will meet again on Saturday, June 11, 2016. Please watch future BCGS newsletters and www.ancestryfair.org for updates on this event.
We need lots of help on the day of the event and it's not too early to volunteer. If you think you can spare an hour or two to help, please contact Peg Felter at
[email protected].
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BEGINNERS CORNER
Do you want information on a country or state and don't know where to start? Take a look at the Wiki on FamilySearch.org. The information isn't 100% accurate, but Wiki's know more than you do.
To find the Wiki, go to
www.familysearch.org, click on "Search", then "Wiki". On the left side of the screen, there is information about the Wiki and options to select for browsing.
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RESEARCH TIP
Are you looking for information from
The Intelligencer
, a Bucks County newspaper since 1804?
The Doylestown Historical Society (DHS) has signed an agreement with
The Intelligencer whereby DHS now has custody of the newspaper's microfilm files, some of which date back to the 1880's. DHA has an office in the center of Doylestown PA, and it is open on Saturdays. Here is the website:
www.doylestownhistorical.org
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ALL STAR AWARD
FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR!
Our newsletter is sent to you through Constant Contact, and we have received this All Star Award for engaging you - our newsletter recipients.
You open our newsletters, click through to various links and have made our
"open rate" and "click through rate" much higher than the average for non-profits. Thank you!
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Membership Fees for One Year Membership
Individual: $20 Dual/Household: $35
Organization: $75
Our membership fees help to pay for speakers, facility rental, website costs, insurance and more. Membership in BCGS is on a rolling basis and lasts one year from the month you join. Won't you join and help us continue to grow?
See a list of BCGS Member Benefits on our website:
Join or renew by mail using our membership application/renewal form , on line on the Society's website via PayPal or by paying with cash or check at our next meeting. And, we now have the ability to accept credit card payments at our monthly meetings!
If you have questions and to get access to the above discounts, contact Pat Gessner, VP-Membership at
[email protected]
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Bucks County Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 826, Washington Crossing, PA 18977
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