Notes from June 29, 2022 Summer breakout groups
John Gelber’s notes:
Question of software to be used
— Family Search (free)
— Ancestry (popular, not free)
— Family Tree Maker
Resources at
— Southern Arizona Genealogy Society
— LDS Libraries
Talked about DNA
— Matches – Find out interesting matches
— Useful for building Tree
Talked about Military Records
Talked about Birth Records/Adoption
Shared stories
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Pam and Mark’s Notes
Mark Hester and I had the pleasure of visiting with Cloyce and Kaye Miller and Cloyce’s half-sister Janet Shropshire. All three brought material to discuss their family trees. Cloyce was interested in researching his biological father who died in Belgium during WW II when Cloyce was very young. Kaye brought a handwritten family tree that she made in high school. Janet was trying to prove the family legend that she was part Indian. Mark gave each of them suggestions on how to further their research and they were very interested and grateful. We were able to ask some general questions about their genealogical experiences such as a) what kind of software they are using and b) if they had any DNA surprises. But mostly they were interested in getting help and talking about their research. We had a delightful conversation and achieved the goal of getting to know our members better. I am looking forward to July and August’s meetings when we will continue to break into small groups.
UPDATE: from Mark: Janet Shropshire took an Ancestry DNA Kit that I had and will be sending her DNA to be analyzed.
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Margie & Byron’s Notes:
Members seated at our table:
Margie Barber
Byron Bissell
Mary-Lynn Dubray
Terri Gilmore
Norma Schellberg
Topics Discussed:
— What got you interested in researching your family’s history?
— What did your grandfathers do during their lifetimes?
— What one thing did you admire most about your grandmothers?
Method used during the discussions:
— Each of the members at the table were given the opportunity to share their answers to the above questions.
— Everyone at the table had very different stories to share. It was interesting and fun.
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Notes from July 27, 2022 Summer breakout groups
Pam Williams notes:
At the July 27th general meeting, we again split into two small groups and discussed our research, brick walls and generally got to know each other better. I had four people in my group. Two members and two visitors (hopefully they will join soon).
Of the new attendees, one has 100% Swedish ancestry and has been appointed the family historian. She has bins of photos that she is currently scanning and sharing. She is new to Ancestry but has already connected with a previously unknown cousin by posting photos on Ancestry. She has lots of unidentified photos, which is not an uncommon dilemma.
The other new attendee was a very experienced genealogist who has years of experience and has taken numerous genealogy research trips. She was able to give all of us some suggestions to continue our research.
One of the current members in the group is waiting for her DNA results to verify the family legend that she has Indian blood (Mark has been helping her). The other member shared a website: genealogytv.org. It has many videos to explore.
Another fun and informative meeting! It was a pleasure to talk to the four attendees
Pam
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Notes from August 31, 2022 Summer breakout groups
Pam Williams notes:
August 31, 2022 was our last summer workshop meeting. We again broke into small groups and discussed organizing genealogical research, brick wall assistance and/or general genealogical topics.
My group primarily discussed organization. We had beginning, intermediate and advanced genealogists in the group. We discussed the following topics and shared our individual methods and tips:
Researching
— Organizing and identifying family pictures. Will photo identification software be available in the future?
— The benefits of paper vs digital copies. Should documents and pictures be thrown away after scanning and uploading to Ancestry?
— Uploading research on Ancestry vs maintaining family trees on PCs using genealogy software.
Sharing Research
— We cautioned about accepting information from other family trees on Ancestry.
Leaving a Legacy
— How writing narratives about your family will be appreciated by family members, especially those not interested in a collection of names and dates.
— Providing printed family trees for family members.
I provided a resource for printed family trees using Reunion software (Heartland Family Graphics).
I brought my PC to the meeting and showed my genealogy software (Reunion for Macs) and the method I used to identify direct ancestors (in all caps). I also showed the filing structure I use on my PC and how I duplicated the structure for my hard copies.
For the members of the group who were either new to genealogy or new to Green Valley, I provided information about the Southern Arizona Genealogical Society (SAGS) and the Green Valley Family History Center. I shared that the SAGS library has a large collection especially for the northeast USA.
We discussed the benefit of a premium membership to Newspapers.com. I offered to search on Newspapers.com with my subscription for those who need help.
It was another enjoyable discussion and a format that we should repeat next summer.
Pam Williams
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Margie Barber comments:
I thought it was another great meeting! So many people seem to really enjoy this kind of interaction. I hope we will do it again next summer!
Margie
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QCGC Founder, Dick Sussman comments:
Great summer workshop meeting in all respects. The relaxed, closely attentive involvement, animation and laughter palpably showed plenty of enjoyment and the socializing potential of our club.
I can tell you that judging from Oct/Nov 2021 discussions I had with the leaders of more than two dozen planned community genealogy clubs — in AZ, TX, CO, NV, and CA during the QCGC formation process, our lively summer breakout sessions are clearly the very model for a productive and resident-beneficial way to continue with hearty and instructive genealogy interactions during the frequently “abandoned” summer months seen in so many other (actually jaded) years-older (existence-wise) genealogy clubs I’ve spoken to. Good on us!
Dick
Quail Creek Genealogy Club 