World Backup Day is March 31st; Are Your Genealogy Files Safe?

We all know that April 1st is April Fool’s Day, but you probably didn’t know that the day before, March 31st, is World Backup Day. Now, perhaps you are wondering, what on earth is that, and why does it matter? We have all come to rely on technology for so much in our lives, and we often assume it’s going to just work all the time. Sadly, that is not the case. Anything electronic is subject to sudden glitches, and that could mean a damaged file, a file that doesn’t save properly, a file that suddenly disappears, or, even worse, an entire hard drive that malfunctions. What would happen to all your genealogy research if your computer malfunctioned?

Standards for Sound Genealogical Research from the National Genealogical Society

A cold, blustery, winter day was the perfect time to tackle a pile of old genealogy magazines before relegating them to the recycling bin. It would have been perfectly logical to just pop them into the gaping blue hole, but what if there were something valuable still to be learned in one of those twenty-five-year-old journals? And, of course, there was!

On St. Patrick's Day We Can All be a Little Irish!

Even if you haven't a single drop of Irish ancestry, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, has become a holiday for everyone to feel Irish. So for at least a day, you can put on something green, eat corned beef and cabbage, drink green beer, and watch or participate in a merry parade. If you are in a big city, perhaps the streets are repainted with green stripes or fountains (or even the Chicago River) are dyed green. But maybe, as genealogists, we should take a minute to determine exactly what really came from Ireland and what has been made more recently in America!

March StLGS Genealogy Meetings and Our 2023 Annual Family History Conference

Our genealogy year is off to a wonderful start! We have been excited to welcome many of you back as our meetings return to in-person. And we are incredibly pleased that many of you are participating in our events virtually when you can't be with us on-site. Thank you all! March is a busy month, as we have begun planning for our 51st annual Family History Conference and for more classes and events later in the year. Here is what is coming up soon . . .