We talked about copyright and food this week.
The brief presentation covered the bare bones of copyright and we stressed how it affects genealogy in particular.
During the Holiday Roundtable we shared foods that we remembered from family gatherings during Thanksgiving or Christmas. Here's a list of various group memories.
Lefse
Mince and pecan pies (and various other varieties)
Krumkake
Stollen
Fruitcake or Christmas cake
Candy, particularly caramels
American food!
We played Ancestor Bingo during Tuesday's workshop. Mary Anne and Maureen filled the most squares. Here are the totals from the group:
My Ancestor...
was a homesteader - 7
lived in Nova Scotia - 2
played the piano - 9
immigrated to America before 1800 - 6
married more than once - 8
celebrated 50 years of marriage - 8
was a census taker - 3
was born in Ireland - 8
arrived in Baltimore - 1
served in the Revolutionary War - 4
lived in Iowa - 4
created a brick wall for me - 10
traveled the Oregon Trail - 0
had more than ten children - 8
was a carpenter - 5
Before the Meeting
Alisa gave us a multitude of suggestions for research when we have only a short time to spare. Many of the ideas were either for the FamilySearch or Ancestry websites.
Some of the "Family History in 5 Minutes a Day" hints were to create a FamilySearch account, upload pictures to Memories, work on hints for sources in either website, or watch a short video from Roots Tech or YouTube.
Alisa also reminded us to register for Roots Tech 2026, which is a free online event produced by the Family History Library and scheduled for Marth 3-5, 2026.
This past Tuesday we took a look at formulating a research plan. We began with a pedigree chart with a few unanswered questions about dates and locations of events.
The five steps to a successful plan:
Identify your objective
List known facts
Formulate a hypothesis
Identify possible record sources
Access the records
For our Veterans Day meeting we shared information about an ancestor who was involved in a military conflict.
We heard about two brothers who served from Wisconsin during the Civil War. Another ancestor wrote a daily diary during his four years of service in the Civil War, and that diary has been translated from the French.
Two Canadian military men were mentioned. One was a pilot who was shot down over Germany and is buried there. Another fought at the Somme and tragically saw his brother killed during that encounter.
Another ancestor was a Navy veteran who fought during both WWI and WWII.
We also discussed several ancestors who did not serve in military forces but worked in factories or continued farm work during the two World Wars.
We welcomed back former members of our club during the first meeting of 2025-2026. Several reported that they had learned family information from "new" cousins.
The topic for the evening was The Ancestor Hunt, where you can find links to all kinds of free websites for both U. S. and Canada records.
We looked at the three main sections of the website. You can read a series of recent articles on "how to" genealogy. Another section contains quick reference guides. The main focus was on the Resource Categories where we explored some of the 24 possibilities for further research.
Our November workshops will begin Tuesday, November 4, at 7PM. We're looking forward to seeing everyone who has returned to Palm Creek.
November 4: The Ancestor Hunt. We'll take a look at a website with something for everyone.
November 11: Roundtable. Let's share information about one of our ancestors who served in the military.
November 18: A Simple Plan. We will demonstrate the steps needed to formulate a research plan.
November 25: Family History in 5 Minutes a Day. Suggestions for research when you only have a few spare minutes.
