Here in the U.S., it is officially National Family History Month. Fall is in full swing. Crisp air. Crunchy leaves. The perfect weather for taphophiles (also known as cemetery enthusiasts). We hope you’ll join us this month for our FindAGrave Community Day on October 18th. We’ve also got some great webinars, tweetchats, and family history events planned throughout the month. Take a look at the complete list below and choose the events that will help you create the perfect Family History Month for you and your family.
Webinars:
What’s New at Ancestry.com: October 2014 Edition
Thursday, October 2nd at 1:00 pm (Eastern)/10:00 am (Pacific)
Join Crista Cowan for a quick look at the new features and tools available to help make your family history easier and more fun. She’ll also review the databases full of new content released in the past month and show you how best to search them to find the stories of your ancestors’ lives.
Ten Things You Can Do To Celebrate Family History Month
Tuesday, October 7th at 1:00 pm (Eastern)/10:00 am (Pacific)
October is National Family History Month here in the U.S. Join Crista Cowan for a quick look at ten things you can do to celebrate family history month over the coming weeks. Then join us in the LIVE chat afterwards to share your ideas and suggestions.
Genealogical Proof Standard: Resolution of Conflicting Evidence
Thursday, October 9th at 1:00 pm (Eastern)/10:00 am (Pacific)
Join Crista Cowan for the fifth in our series on the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). Step four is “resolution of conflicting evidence.” You will learn both WHY this is such an important step in your research process and HOW to do it.
Five Reasons You Are Not Finding Your Ancestor
Tuesday, October 14th at 1:00 pm (Eastern)/10:00 am (Pacific)
You have searched and searched and searched and are still coming up empty when looking for information about a particular family line. Join Crista Cowan for a look at five possible reasons why you might not be finding your ancestor. Even one of them could provide you with the spark of an idea you need to bust right through that #genealogy brick wall.
Joining A Hereditary Society
Thursday, October 16th at 1:00 pm (Eastern)/10:00 am (Pacific)
SAR. DAR. DUP. ADEAW. What do all of these acronyms have in common? These are just a few of the 100 (or more) hereditary societies you can join once you find a person in your family tree who qualifies. Join Crista Cowan for a look at the different societies that are available for you to join, what the membership benefits are to you, and how to complete the application process.
Navigating the Ancestry YouTube Channel
Tuesday, October 21st at 1:00 pm (Eastern)/10:00 am (Pacific)
It’s the 3rd anniversary of The Barefoot Genealogist. Join Crista Cowan for a look at some of her favorite videos from the past three years. She’ll even throw in some tips for navigating YouTube, creating your own playlists, and sharing videos with your genealogy friends.
Putting Together a Family Health History
Thursday, October 23rd at 1:00 pm (Eastern)/10:00 am (Pacific)
One of the reasons people are drawn to genealogy is to learn more about their family health history. Join Crista Cowan for a few quick tips about putting together your own family health history for yourself and your children.
Lesser Known Ports of Immigration
Tuesday, October 28th at 1:00 pm (Eastern)/10:00 am (Pacific)
Have you looked for your ancestor coming into the Port of New York/Ellis Island and come up empty? What about Boston? Philadelphia? Baltimore? Join Crista Cowan for a look at the “lesser known” ports of immigration that your ancestor might have used on their journey into the United States.
Top Tips for Beginning Mexico Family History Research
Thursday, October 30th at 1:00 pm (Eastern)/10:00 am (Pacific)
Do you have Mexican ancestry? Join Crista Cowan as she shares some of the top tools and record collections that will help you find success in tracing your Mexican ancestors.
Click here to RSVP for any of the above webinars. Watch each webinar live via Livestream here. If you can’t watch live RSVP anyway to receive reminders via Facebook prior to each event and a notice when they have been archived on YouTube.
Conferences and Events:
Central Indiana Genealogy Conference
Saturday, October 11th in Indianapolis, IN
The Genealogical Society of Marion County, in cooperation with the Indiana Historical Society, presents the 19th Annual Central Indiana Genealogy Conference. This full-day conference features four sessions which includes Ancestry speakers and professional genealogists, Juliana Szucs and Lou Szucs.
#AncestryChat: Migration Through the Centuries
Thursday, October 16th at 7:00 pm (Eastern)/4:00 pm (Pacific)
Join expert genealogists, Amy Johnson Crow and Juliana Szucs Smith for a Twitter chat. Come prepared to ask your questions about migration patterns through time. If you don’t have a question, join us anyway. You never know what you might learn that will help you in your own family history journey.
The October 16th TweetChat will start at 7:00 pm Eastern (4:00 pm Pacific) and run for approximately 1 hour.
The Genealogy Event – NYC 2014
October 17th, 18th and 19th in New York City
The Genealogy Event, in partnership with the National Archives at New York City, will offer two days of learning, fun – and genealogy enthusiasm! This will be followed with an entire day dedicated to DNA and genetic genealogy at the India House Club in New York City. Click the link above to see the class schedule for the three day event, which includes a full track of Ancestry classes on Friday and Saturday and a presentation on AncestryDNA on Sunday.
Genealogy COMO 2014
Saturday, October 18th in Columbia, Missouri
This regional conference is open to all levels of expertise and boasts 30 sessions to select from including Ancestry professional genealogist, Amy Johnson Crow. This conference is free to attend and children as young as 12 years old are welcome.
#AncestryChat: Going Beyond Census and Vital Records
Thursday, October 30th at 7:00 pm (Eastern)/4:00 pm (Pacific)
Join expert genealogists, Juliana Szucs and Anne Gillespie Mitchell for a live Twitter chat. Come prepared to ask your questions about looking for vital records beyond the census. If you don’t have a question, join us anyway and share your knowledge or tips with others. You never know what you might learn that will help you in your own family history journey.
The October 30th TweetChat will start at 7:00 pm Eastern (4:00 pm Pacific) and run for approximately 1 hour.
A Look Towards November and Beyond:
Ancestry Day in Oklahoma
November 7th and 8th in Oklahoma City
Ancestry.com, the Oklahoma Historical Society, and the Oklahoma Genealogical Society present Ancestry Day in Oklahoma, two days of genealogy and native culture November 7-8, 2014. Both novice and experienced genealogists are welcome at this event. Registration to the main event is $40 and includes admission to all Saturday classes presented by Ancestry.com. Participants may also attend optional activities for an additional charge including Friday sessions, bus tours, a reception, and a Saturday lunch program. Click the link above for the complete schedule and registration information. Seats are limited so sign up soon!
RootsTech 2015 and FGS 2015 – Two Conferences, One Location!
February 11th – 14th, 2015 in Salt Lake City
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) and RootsTech are teaming up for a one-time special genealogy event at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, February 11–14, 2015. FGS and RootsTech will share the expo hall, general sessions, activities, and more while each conference offers their own program of sessions. FGS sessions will focus on methodology, records, ethnic research, and migration for honing your research skills and society issues to motivate and inspire society volunteers. RootsTech will offer a program of technology-based solutions for the genealogy needs of both individuals and societies.
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That is a lot of events for one month! We’ve also got some fun and informative posts planned for you here on the blog so check back here often. One last thing, don’t forget to tune in to Finding Your Roots on PBS every Tuesday night.
Happy Family History Month!