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“Stump Craig” at the November Meeting

Do you have a genealogy question or brick wall that is leaving you feeling “stumped?”

If so, you will NOT want to miss our next meeting, which will feature Craig Scott (a.k.a. Krag Mariner in Second Life) for one of our favorite events, “Stump Craig!”

WHEN: Sunday, 14 November 2021
TIME: 12:00 p.m. PDT / 3:00 p.m. EDT <—- NOTE EARLIER TIME
WHERE: The Fire Pit at Just Genealogy SLurl

Craig Scott, “a professional genealogical and historical researcher for more than thirty-five years,” specializing in military records, problem-solving, Quakers,  and publishing (see his biography, below), will be available to answer your most pressing – and difficult – family history questions.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to receive FREE research guidance from a seasoned professional (plus, he’s a lot of fun)!

Please use our Contact form if you would like to send your questions to Craig in advance.

A short business meeting will be held prior to the discussion.

All levels of family history researchers are welcome at our meetings. You do not need to be a member of the SLVGS in order to attend, but we’d love it if you’d join!

About The Speaker

Image of Craig Scott

Craig Roberts Scott, MA, CG, FUGA is the author of The ‘Lost Pensions’: Settled Accounts of the Act of 6 April 1838 (Revised) and Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, Inventory 14 (Revised). His most recent work is Understanding Revolutionary War and Invalid Pension Ledgers, 1818 – 1872, and the Payment Vouchers They Represent. He has authored seventeen books and several articles in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, and other genealogical publications. He is the President and CEO of Heritage Books, Inc., a genealogical publishing firm with over 9,500 titles in print.

A professional genealogical and historical researcher for more than thirty-five years, he specializes in military records, problem-solving, Quakers,  and publishing. He is a member of the Company of Military Historians and on the editorial board of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. He is a former Treasurer and Director of the Association of Professional Genealogists. He has been a faculty member or coordinator of research tracks in the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, Samford University and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, and the Genealogical Institute of Pittsburgh. He is currently the Coordinator of the SLIG Guided Research and Consultation Track, helping students solve their brick wall problems. He has coordinated many Heritage Books Genealogical Conference and Cruises. He is a recipient of the Grahame T. Smallwood, Jr. Award and UGA Silver Tray Award. He became a Fellow, Utah Genealogical Association, in 2014.

Learn About Graveyard Symbols at the October Meeting

Join us on Sunday for our monthly meeting featuring an interactive discussion about graveyard symbology!

WHEN: Sunday, 10 October 2021
TIME: 5:30 p.m. SLT (same as Pacific Time / 8:30 p.m. EDT)
WHERE: The Fire Pit at Just Genealogy SLurl

A short business meeting will be held prior to the discussion.

Description

Think you know what all those symbols in the cemetery mean? Show off your knowledge of graveyard symbology during our interactive discussion!

All are welcome at our meetings. You do not need to be a member of the SLVGS in order to attend, but we’d love it if you’d join!

Visit the Titanic at the September Meeting

Join us on Sunday for our monthly meeting featuring a field trip to the Titanic!

WHEN: Sunday, 14 September 2021
TIME: 5:30 p.m. SLT (same as Pacific Time / 8:30 p.m. EDT)
WHERE: The Fire Pit at Just Genealogy SLurl

A short business meeting will be held prior to the speaker’s presentation.

Description

This month we will be chatting briefly about memorials and the commercialization of history.

A field trip to see the Titanic Exhibit in Second Life will follow the discussion.

All are welcome at our meetings. You do not need to be a member of the SLVGS in order to attend, but we’d love it if you’d join!

August Meeting Cancelled

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the SLVGS board has decided to cancel the meeting planned for Sunday, August 8, 2021.

Please plan to join us on September 12th. Details about that meeting will be coming soon, so stay tuned.

You are also welcome to join us on Tuesday, August 24, at 6:00 p.m. SLT for the NGSQ Study Group. Please visit the NGSQ Study Group website for more information.

In the meantime, have a wonderful August!

Learn About the Psychology of Searching and Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy at the July Meeting

Join us on Sunday for our monthly meeting featuring guest speaker Dr. Penny Walters who will share “The Psychology of Searching and Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy.”

WHEN: Sunday, 11 June 2021
TIME: 12:00 p.m. SLT (same as Pacific Time) <— NOTE EARLIER MEETING TIME
WHERE: The Fire Pit at Just Genealogy SLurl

A short business meeting will be held prior to the speaker’s presentation.

Please note that we will be meeting at 12:00 p.m. PDT instead of our usual evening meeting time. This is to accommodate the time difference for Dr. Walters who will be speaking to us live from London!

Description

Dr. Penny Walters, author of The Psychology of Searching (Amazon, 2020), explains that compiling pedigrees was needed for landed gentry, but genealogy is now a popular hobby. This session will look at kinship, homelands, heritages, race memory, becoming obsessed with searching, and putting all the pieces in our jigsaw. Why do we research ancestors we share so little DNA with? Has social media made us lonely, and we hoard people? How many people do you interact with on your tree? Does your personality influence your interest in compiling your family tree? Are we searching for who they were, or who we are? “I’m just compiling our family tree, what can go wrong?”

The second half of this session will discuss what ethics and morality mean, and what these have to do with genealogy. Ethical dilemmas in genealogy came to the forefront since law enforcement utilized information from GEDMatch to apprehend a suspected serial killer. These issues include exposing secrets and lies, and unexpected DNA results. Many people have to struggle through ethical dilemmas on their own, so attendees at this session will benefit from considering ethical issues with more empathy and sensitivity, as covered in Penny’s book Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy (Amazon, 2019).

All are welcome at our meetings. You do not need to be a member of the SLVGS in order to attend, but we’d love it if you’d join!

About The Speaker

Image of Dr. Penny WaltersDr. Penny Walters has been a University lecturer for 30 years in Psychology and Business Studies. Penny’s interest in genealogy started after having her first child and then wondering about her biological parents, as she was adopted. DNA testing has revealed 94% Irish heritage; and fascinating insights into her children’s heritage.

Penny lectures internationally in-person, presents webinars, and writes articles about a variety of genealogy topics including ethical dilemmas, the psychology of searching, adoption, ethnicity, and identity, Irish heritage, and mixing DNA results with a paper trail. Penny has authored the books Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy and The Psychology of Searching. Both are available in paperback or Kindle on Amazon.

Please get in touch to discuss booking her as a speaker: https://www.searchmypast.co.uk.

 

June Meeting Cancelled

With graduations, family vacations, and more states reopening after COVID closures, the SLVGS board has decided to cancel the meeting planned for Sunday, June 13, 2021.

Instead, please plan to join us on July 11 when featured speaker Penny Walters will join us! More on that will be coming soon, so stay tuned.

You are also welcome to join us on Thursday, June 22, at 6:00 p.m. SLT for the NGSQ Study Group. Please visit the NGSQ Study Group website for more information.

In the meantime, go outside and have a wonderful June!

Learn About the History of Spaceflight at the May Meeting

Were your ancestors involved in the history of spaceflight and exploration? If they were – or even if they weren’t – you won’t want to miss our May 16th meeting!

WHEN: Sunday, 16 May 2021 (note change of day due to Mother’s Day)
TIME: 5:30 p.m. SLT (same as Pacific Time)
WHERE: The Fire Pit at Just Genealogy SLurl

We’ll be taking a field trip to the International Spaceflight Museum (ISM) at Spaceport Alpha, a volunteer-created and maintained sim dedicated to the history of spaceflight. Learn about rockets and spacecraft from the past, present, and future. Take a tour of the museum grounds in an amphibious vehicle. Visit the planetarium. Ride a rocket into space and explore the planets. There’s so much to do at the ISM!

Rockets display at the International Spaceflight Museum

Across the bridge is Explorer Island, home of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Second Life, which you are also welcome to visit. Several displays about current and upcoming missions are available including Mars Mountain.

A short business meeting will be held prior to the field trip.

All are welcome at our meetings. You do not need to be a member of the SLVGS in order to attend, but we’d love it if you’d join!

 

Doing Good with Genealogy at the April Meeting

Genealogists enjoy sharing their research with others. But we usually focus on our own families and have a limited audience.

How can we “do good” with genealogy?

Join us on Sunday evening to discuss and learn about how YOU can help by participating in projects to expand the family trees of your specific community and help others discover their ancestors.

There are many projects that allow us to give back to our communities. For example, we can participate in projects that use existing records to reconstitute the families within a specific community and adding that information to FamilySearch. These communities could be a town or neighborhood or maybe an organization such as a school, church or other civic organization.

We can also work on helping reunite photographs with their families. Or participate in indexing projects. We’re sure you have other ideas on Doing Good with Genealogy!

Genealogist Miles Meyer will lead this discussion.

WHEN: Sunday, 11 April 2021
TIME: 5:30 p.m. SLT (same as Pacific Time)
WHERE: The Fire Pit at Just Genealogy SLurl

A short business meeting will be held prior to the program.

All are welcome at our meetings. You do not need to be a member of the SLVGS in order to attend, but we’d love it if you’d join!

About The Speaker

Miles Meyer

Miles Meyer is a scientist by training and has been active in genealogy for over 20 years in a variety of ways. His expertise revolves around new technologies, internet research, and FamilySearch. He is a Family History Consultant and current Director of the Vero Beach Family History Center. He has been speaking at genealogy conferences, including RootsTech Salt Lake, RootsTech London, and other events for over 10 years and assists others in researching their family histories.

Additionally, Miles has been a beta tester for several genealogy companies including AncestralQuest, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, BillionGraves, and BYU Tech Labs to name a few. He is also a Certified Trainer and the Director of Education for The Family History Guide. Miles has produced several training manuals and maintains several websites and blogs on genealogy-related activities.

NEW! SLVGS Hangouts @ The Fire Pit

Do you have a genealogy brick wall or a question that you’d like to run by the “hive mind” of your fellow genealogists?

Or do you need help to learn the basics of using Second Life® (walking, sitting, changing outfits)?

Come to the Fire Pit on Wednesday evenings in March for an informal hangout with members of the SLVGS and get answers to your questions!

WHEN: Wednesdays, 10 & 24 March 2021
TIME: 4:30 p.m. SLT (same as Pacific Time)
WHERE: The Fire Pit at Just Genealogy SLurl

NOTE: You do not need to be a member of the SLVGS to come to the hangouts, but we’d love it if you’d join!

 

Learn About the 21 Day Family Connections Experiment at the March Meeting

If you’re looking for fun and exciting ways to engage your family members (especially teens and the youngest generation) in genealogy and family history, we’ve got a TREAT for you!

WHEN: Sunday, 14 March 2021
TIME: 5:30 p.m. SLT (same as Pacific Time)
WHERE: The Fire Pit at Just Genealogy SLurl

Taralyn Parker, Olivia Jewell, Camille Mecham, and Michelle Gardner will be the special guest speakers at our March meeting and will share their hugely successful project, the 21 Day Family Connections Experiment.

About the project:

The 21 Day Family Connections Experiment, a family history project, invites individuals to increase their connections with family past and present for a consecutive 21 days.

Started during the world-wide pandemic, a group of family historians thought it would be an excellent time to do an informal study about how connecting with both living and deceased family members can contribute positively to our overall emotional health and mental well being.

The family history activities in this 21 day experience go beyond traditional genealogical tasks. In fact they are short, simple, engaging, fun and can be enjoyed by children and families.

The program is titled, “The 21 Day Family Connections Experiment: Exploring the Power of Psychological Benefits and Social Connections in Family History.”

Bring the whole family to learn how YOU can participate in the 21 Day Family Connections Experiment![1]Please note that the Second Life Terms of Service restricts users to age 16 and above for general content areas. Attendees may invite family members younger than age 16 to watch the presentation at … Continue reading

A short business meeting will be held prior to the program.

All are welcome at our meetings. You do not need to be a member of the SLVGS in order to attend, but we’d love it if you’d join!

About The Speakers

Taralyn ParkerTaralyn Parker is a journalist turned family historian who runs the blog Keep Moving Forward With Me. During the COVID-19 crisis, she helped create the 21-day Family Connections Experiment: a Family History Project. Whether she is teaching classes or traveling to ancestors’ hometowns, Taralyn is passionate about sharing family history and stories.

Working in the industry for 10+ years, Taralyn manages social media for various companies and organizations. She loves using her talents to help share goodness.

Olivia Jewell

Olivia Jewell is a family history presenter who has presented at RootsTech, BYU Education Week, and other related events.

Amidst her busy schedule as a mom of four, she has learned to incorporate her technological savvy and family history experience to teach busy people of all ages simple ways they can incorporate family history into daily life using modern technology to make it easy and fun.

Camille MechamCamille Mecham is from southeast Idaho. She still lives there with her husband and 3 kids.

She has taught at the Rexburg FamilySearch Center, the South East Idaho Genealogical Conference, and at RootsTech in 2020.

She runs The Mommy Genealogist where she shares how to share family history with your family, especially kids.

Michelle GardnerMichelle Gardner: For as long as I can remember, I’ve been teaching others of all ages how to use tech to their advantage the easiest way possible. I LOVE connecting with people and creating opportunities for individuals to connect with others, so much so I got a degree in Recreation and Non-profits. This love has also driven me to genealogy work and helping others get through genealogy roadblocks in their own family history.

 

 

Notes

Notes
1 Please note that the Second Life Terms of Service restricts users to age 16 and above for general content areas. Attendees may invite family members younger than age 16 to watch the presentation at their own discretion.
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