Founded 1991
1500 Shenandoah Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22308
Telephone: (703) 768-4101 |
|
Thursday, June 1
New England SIG: New England Probate Records (Special Interest Group)
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm McLean Family History Center
Moderator: Linda MacLachlan
A webinar discussing New England probate records.
|
|
|
|
Monday, June 5
Using FamilySearch.org (Training and Education)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Room 214 Hollin Hall Senior Center
Instructor: Linda MacLachlan
Purpose of the workshop is to learn how to use the FamilySearch.org website more effectively. The workshop will be taught in room 214, the MVGS Research Center. The class is limited to 12 attendees. There are 7 PC’s in the room that people can use. The remaining 5 people will need to bring their own laptops.
Please bring a copy of the handouts with you, or have them handy on your laptop to use.
|
|
|
|
Wednesday, June 7
MVGS Methodology SIG - Solving Research Problems and Dead Ends (Special Interest Group)
1:30 pm to 3:30 pm Hollin Hall Room 214
Instructor: Chuck Mason
Do you have an ancestor who you cannot find, or conflicting evidence about an ancestor? Learn how to gather and evaluate evidence to solve the problem. Sessions will include hands on problem solving workshop and help to resolve one of each SIG member’s personal research problems. This will be an ongoing topic between the January and April meetings.
|
|
|
|
Monday, June 12
FxGS Methodology SIG: Comparing the Major Genealogy Software Programs (Special Interest Group)
12:00 pm to 2:00 pm Kings Park Library, 9000 Burke Lake Rd., Burke, VA
Presenter: Sharon Cook MacInnes
We've lost some major software programs such as The Master Genealogist recently. Now that Family Tree Maker has changed hands, some of the confusion over genealogy software has abated. We will compare the major genealogy software programs for how user-friendly they are, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and what the future holds.
NOTE: This is the last Methodology SIG class by Sharon MacInnes due to increased professional responsibilities. If you can volunteer to lead this SIG, please (please, please) contact her at smacinnes@cox.net.
|
|
|
|
Thursday, June 15
Getting Started in Your Kentucky Research (Training and Education)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Room 201 Hollin Hall Senior Center
Instructor: Jonmarie Pearson
Have you suddenly learned that you have ancestors that lived in Kentucky? Come and learn about ways you can begin researching and finding information about your Kentucky ancestors.
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, June 20
Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) (General Meeting)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Hollin Hall Room 112
Presenters: Paul Walden and Dave Thomas
Description: Paul and Dave will discuss procedures for Joining SAR and explain the SAR Library. Prospective members must prove that they are descended from a patriot who served in the American Revolution and supported the cause for American Independence. Proven service can include not just military service, but also government service, signing an Oath of Allegiance, providing supplies, or even paying taxes during the time period 1775-83. They will explain sources for this information as well as hints in proving the lineage. Paul and Dave have a wealth of experience in having helped over 50 people join the SAR.
The SAR Genealogical Research Library, in Louisville, Kentucky, contains over 55,000 items including family histories; local, county, and state records; and on-line genealogical databases. The Special Collections Room features museum-quality pieces relating to the early history of the United States and the American Revolution.
Paul Walden is the past Registrar and current President of the George Washington Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), based in Alexandria. The George Washington Chapter is the largest chapter in Virginia. Their website is www.gwsar.org. Paul has been researching his family’s history for the past 20 years and has been a member of the SAR for seven years. He has proven his lineage to nine (9) of his own ancestors who served in the Cause for Independence. He has a degree in Business Administration from Emory University and a Master of Science degree in Real Estate from Georgia State University. He has been in the Federal Civil Service for the past 28 years and is currently the Chief of the Property Management Division with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Dave Thomas graduated from the University of Florida and moved to Alexandria in 1978. He began a career in information technology (IT) infrastructure support and corporate management that would span 37 years with General Electric, Martin Marietta, and recently retired as a Regional IT Manager for Lockheed Martin. Dave and his wife Carole, currently live in Woodbridge, VA. He currently serves as the George Washington Chapter’s Secretary and Registrar and Virginia Society Registrar. He has approved 79 new member & supplemental applications to date.
Dave’s mother, aunt and cousin are members of the DAR in Pittsburgh, PA. Dave is a descendent of Revolutionary War patriots George Simmers and Robert Elliott. Patriot George Simmers served as a private in the Pennsylvania Lancaster County militia from August 1776 through 1777, was engaged with the fortification of Ft. Lee, and participated in the Battle of Trenton and Battle of Brandywine. Patriot Robert Elliott served as a private in the Pennsylvania Westmoreland County militia, and fought in one of the last engagements of the Revolution in July 1782 at Hannastown, PA. Both men survived the Revolutionary War, with Robert Elliott documented as a charter member of the first church on the west bank of the Allegheny River in 1796.
|
|
|
|
Monday, July 3
CANCELLED - Using FamilySearch.org (Training and Education)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Room 214 Hollin Hall Senior Center
Instructor: Linda MacLachlan
Fairfax County will close HHSC on 3 July for the 4 July holiday so class has been cancelled. The same workshop is being taught on 5 June if you want to take that one instead.
Purpose of the workshop is to learn how to use the FamilySearch.org website more effectively. The workshop will be taught in room 214, the MVGS Research Center. The class is limited to 12 attendees. There are 7 PC’s in the room that people can use. The remaining 5 people will need to bring their own laptops.
Please bring a copy of the handouts with you, or have them handy on your laptop to use.
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, July 18
Only a Few Bones: Case Studies in Assembling Sources to Reconstruct Real-Life Events (General Meeting)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Hollin Hall Room 112
Presenter: John Philip Colletta, Ph.D.
Description: The biographical facts we discover about our ancestors did not happen in a vacuum. Our ancestors were born, lived and died in specific physical circumstances at specific moments in time. To reconstruct their lives, therefore, the facts we discover about them must be “situated” in the proper historical context. Three 19th-century case studies drawn from "Only a Few Bones, a True Account of the Rolling Fork Tragedy and Its Aftermath" demonstrate how to use multiple sources to assemble vivid accounts of ancestral events and generate biographies that portray individualized ancestors.
Dr. John Coletta teaches diverse audiences nationwide how to reconstruct their family’s past from scraps of information found in old written records, maps, newspapers, photographs, tombstones and heirlooms. The detective work is challenging and fun. But creating a family tree is only half the goal. The other half is learning about your ancestors as men and women with personalities, character traits, motives and aspirations, joys and disappointments, just like you. His illustrated presentations use engaging case studies and real-life examples, and lots of humor, to show how to explore the world of your forebearers and write an account of their lives.
|
|
|
|
Thursday, July 20
Our Ancestors Didn't Live Alone (Training and Education)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Room 201 Hollin Hall Senior Center
Instructor: Chuck Mason
Our ancestors did not go through life alone. They had family, neighbors, and other acquaintances. We must examine all our ancestor’s immediate family, collateral family, and associates to understand our ancestors and their lives. For instance, the information needed to answer our research question may not have been required when our direct ancestor's record was created, but another family member’s record may have contained the answer. Different answers may have been given in different records to the same question. Looking at various family members’ records may resolve conflicts or confusion created by differing answers. This class will offer ways to look at various family member’s records.
|
|
|
|
Monday, August 7
Entering information onto the family tree on FamilySearch.org (Training and Education)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Room 214 Hollin Hall Senior Center
Instructor: Linda MacLachlan
Purpose of the workshop is to learn how to post information onto family trees on the FamilySearch.org website. The workshop will be held in room 214, the MVGS Research Center. The class is limited to 12 attendees. There are 7 PC’s in the room that people can use. The remaining 5 people will need to bring their own laptops.
Please create your own account on FamilySearch.org BEFORE you come to class. The website will email your password and account info to your home email.
Please bring a copy of the handouts with you, or have them handy on your laptop to use.
|
|
|
|
Thursday, August 10
PICASA - An electronic image organizer and viewer (Training and Education)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Hollin Hall Room 217
Instructor: Charles Gearhart
Picasa was a free image organizer and viewer for organizing and editing digital photos, plus an integrated photo-sharing website. On February 12, 2016, Google announced it was discontinuing support for Picasa Desktop and Web Albums, effective March 15, 2016, and focusing on the cloud-based Google Photos as its successor. Picasa Web Albums, a companion service, was closed on May 1, 2016. Even though not supported, this program provides many great media enhancing features.
Picasa has file importing and tracking features, as well as tags, facial recognition, and collections for further sorting. It also offers several basic photo editing functions, including color enhancement, red eye reduction, and cropping. This training session will discuss the capabilities of Picasa and the latest addition of Google Photos.
To register for this T&E session please click HERE.
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, August 15
Finding Pre-and Post-Civil War Virginia Records, Including Plantation Records (General Meeting)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Hollin Hall Room 112
Presenter: Char McCargo Bah
Description: This lecture will present a variety of records that can be used in searching for your ancestors. These records will include pre and post-civil war records for free and enslaved people. A sample copy of each record group will show the genealogical value to uncovering more information about your ancestors. For each record group, a description of where to find the record will be discussed.
Char McCargo Bah is the CEO/Owner of FindingThingsforU, LLC. She has been a genealogist since 1981; she has appeared in numerous television interviews with CBS, FOX-5, Comcast, Public Broadcasting Services just to name a few and documentaries. She has received numerous awards in 2014, 2013, 2010, and in 2009 for her work in genealogy. She was the City of Alexandria’s genealogist on the Alexandria Freedmen and Contraband Cemetery. She became a “Living Legend of Alexandria in 2014.” She is co-author of “African Americans of Alexandria, VA: Beacons of Light in the Twentieth Century.” Char has over 39 articles for the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) in a column called “Char’s Corner”. She is currently working on her second book which will be available in 2018; and, she has just completed a PBS documentary on the first African American NBA player as well as working with PBS on other projects. The documentary is scheduled to air in late Fall 2017 or early 2018. The title “The First to Make It.”
|
|
|
|
Thursday, August 17
Finding and Using Unusual Records (Training and Education)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Room 201 Hollin Hall Senior Center
Instructor: Sharon Hodges
This class will address locating and using records such as insurance records, various licenses and their applications, etc. in your genealogy research.
|
|
|
|
|
