FGS Meeting - 15 March 2008

The Florida Genealogical Society will hold its monthly meeting on Saturday, March 15, 2008, at 10:30 AM in the Auditorium of the John F. Germany Library at 900 North Ashley Drive in Downtown Tampa.

The presenter is well-known speaker Donna Moughty, who will present a program titled “Getting the Most out of FamilySearch.org,” the LDS’ massive online Website. This program will provide a detailed insight into how to navigate the site, use the Family History Library catalog to order microfilm to your local FHC, and more.

A Special Interest Group (SIG) will also meet at 1:00 PM in the Genealogy & Local History Department. Admission is free.

News from Other Societies - BAGHS & JGSTB

The Brandon Area Genealogical and Historical Society will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, 12 February 2008, at the Bloomfield Regional Public Library. Pam Treme’& Pattie Schultz from the Pasco Genealogy Society will present "Connecting through Family Newsletters." This is a two part program on how to compile your newsletter using Microsoft Word, and then use the mail merge tool to send to several people. You will learn things about your Microsoft Word you didn't even know were there!

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The Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay is offering a two-part educational seminar designed to enable you to discover your family’s immigration records. This seminar will enable you to discover your family’s immigration records. The presentations will concentrate on both traditional and recently available Internet resources that will be of interest to the beginning genealogist as well as those with more experience. The past few years have seen substantial changes in the methods and sources of genealogical research, so the course will place special emphasis on recently developed Internet resources, which are invaluable to researchers of any level of experience. The course will focus on the proper techniques, methods, and short cuts (emphasizing local in addition to Internet resources) that will connect you with your ancestors in the old country – including your grandma!

Dr. Emil H. Isaacson will lead the seminar. Dr. Isaacson has 25 years experience in genealogy and has researched his ancestral roots back seven generations to the late 1700’s in Europe. He will share his successful and sometimes unsuccessful techniques.

There will be no charge for members of the JGSTB. Non-members will be charged $25 to attend, but that charge will include a one-year membership in the JGSTB. Annual membership dues for the JGSTB are $25 per individual or family. There will be an additional charge of $10 per seminar booklet. Couples may wish to share one booklet between them.

Member News: A Blessed Event!

Marc and Alicia Cole Truitt's baby girl was born in January. Her name is Kiran Renee Truitt and she is already being spoiled by Marc and Alicia. Congratulations on the addition of a new branch on your family tree!

News from Other Societies - South Bay & Charlotte County Genealogical Societies

The South Bay Genealogical Society will hold its monthly meeting on 19 February 2008 with a program presented by Donna Moughty. Her topic is Getting the Most from Ancestry.com. The meeting will be held at the Little Harbor Restaurant at Noon and luncheon reservations are required. For more information, visit their website at http://www.rootsweb.com/~flsbgs.

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The Charlotte County Genealogical Society will hold its all-day "Spring Symposium" on Saturday, 23 February 23 2008, at the St. James Episcopal Church in Port Charlotte. The program of 4 topics will be presented by Curt Witcher, Manager of the Genealogy & History Department at the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, IN. Reservations include a box lunch, and are due by February 19th. Registration begins at 8:00 AM and the seminar takes place from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. For more information and the registration form, visit http://www.rootsweb.com/~flccgs/Witcher_Flyer.pdf.

FGS Meeting - 16 February 2008

The February 16th program for FGS will be a hands-on workshop about using HeritageQuest Online, one of the databases provided by the Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library Cooperative. The presenter will be member George G. Morgan, who also teaches this workshop to librarians serving genealogists and has written articles about this database.

This program will be held in the Auditorium of the John F. Germany Library in downtown Tampa. (Previous information was that it would be held in the computer lab.) It will begin promptly at 10:30 AM and last for one hour, after which you can use the computers in the library's History & Genealogy Department to work with the database. (HeritageQuest Online is can also be accessed remotely from your home computer anytime, through the library's website, if you have a valid THPLC library card.)

There are limited spaces for this computer lab workshop and a total of only 30 spaces are available. The library will provide 10 computers and attendees will have to share a computer. If you have a laptop computer, please bring it along with a fully charged battery. This will provide a computer for yourself and you won't necessarily have to share.

You must pre-register to reserve a space for yourself by sending an e-mail to fgstampa@hotmail.com or to rabidgenealogist@hotmail.com. The program is free but you must have a registration. As of Feb 1st, there were still 17 spaces available. (If we have great demand for the workshop, we will have a waiting list and will repeat it on another date later in the year that won't conflict with our regular meeting.)

Don't delay! Reserve your spot today!

FGS Dues are Due!

Your FGS dues are now due! Don't let your membership lapse in this great 50th Anniversary Year!

We have lots of great plans for programs and events for 2008 and you won't want to miss anything.

Dues are $20.00 for an individual and $25.00 for a family (all members of the same household). Please download the Membership Application and return it with your check by February 15th. A link to the application in PDF file format is in the right-hand column of this website. Your newly completed application will guarantee that we have your latest information on file. (Attendees for the reservations-only workshop on February 16th can pay their dues on that day.)