StLGS September Genealogy Meetings and Events

Although we were hoping that we could begin meeting in person again in September, with the increase in COVID-19 cases in our area, the very safest thing to do is to complete our 2021 schedule online. We hope you will join us for these exciting family history events.

In addition to our monthly meeting, German SIG meeting, and an online class, we are pleased to announce our Fall Speaker Series, featuring a full day of lectures on "Mapping Our Ancestors" in America. Read on for details! 

Preparing for the 1950 Federal Census

During the past few weeks, the federal census has been back in the news for a variety of reasons. As genealogists, we know that the United States conducts a census of its citizens every ten years. The first federal census began after the Revolutionary War, in 1790, and, with the exception of the 1890 census, which was largely destroyed because of fire damage and neglect, we have a fairly complete set of records covering about 230 years. Genealogists also know how valuable the censuses are in compiling our family histories. Questions on family origin, immigration and naturalization, education, wealth, property, and relationships often reveal a surprising amount of information and help us solve innumerable problems.

The Final Word on Zoom

This is our third and final post on Zoom meetings and webinars. If you missed either of the previous two posts and you are a subscriber to this blog, you can use the links at the bottom of your MailChimp email to catch up. If you don't currently subscribe (and we welcome you to do so by clicking on the "Subscribe" link on the right of the Blogspot window) click on these: Zoom part one and Zoom part two. We’ll conclude our tutorial with some miscellaneous Zoom terms that will be useful for you to know. Then you can sit back, relax, and enjoy all of the upcoming virtual meetings that we at St. Louis Genealogical Society have planned for you on our fall and winter schedule!

How Safe is the Data in Your Online Family Tree?

For most of the past few decades, genealogists have been posting their family trees online at various websites. Doing so has enabled many researchers to meet new relatives, make friends with other online researchers, and enlarge their knowledge of their families’ histories. Experienced genealogists have agonized over the lack of thorough research in many online trees and bemoaned the proliferation of inaccurate information, but the vast majority of researchers have still enjoyed the convenience of being able to attach documents as they find them and pursue “hints” or suggestions. Many of the major genealogy sites have spent years encouraging people to keep their trees online and millions have done so, but at what cost?

StLGS August Genealogy Meetings and Events

We hope you were able to join us for our exciting Summer Speaker Series, "Navigating DNA Testing Websites," with Diahan Southard and representatives of four of the largest testing companies, but if you missed the livestreaming, you can now watch the digital recordings. Read on for everything you need to know about how to access them. We are continuing to hold our StLGS events virtually, but we hope that later this year, we can offer some events as hybrid, meaning that some people will be able to meet with us in person while we also connect via Zoom with other attendees. We'll keep you posted on progress, but meanwhile, here is what is coming up in August.