AncestryDNA Sale???

Image from AncestryDNA website

You didn't hear this from me, but I was on the phone with Ancestry.com's Tech Support today (very helpful as usual) and before I hung up, I asked if their DNA test was still $99. She said that yes, it was to which I replied that I thought there might be some holiday specials.  Now, she didn't say anything definitive, but she "suggested" that I check the pricing on Black Friday.

Since the start of their DNA project, I have been cynical (or maybe the right word is skeptical) about their early results.  After all, it's hard to tell someone who is obviously of Asian descent that they were 98% Scandinavian.  Now I don't know if they tried to get away with that result specifically, but I do know that the early results were, at best, questionable. But after reading Judy G. Russell, Blaine T. Bettinger, Roberta Estes and others, Ancestry seems to have gotten their act together. They've even tweaked their autosomal results creating a significant trimming of possible matches. Nice job Ancestry!!  

As a result of all this and other factors, I'll certainly check them out again this Friday and see if the "hint" from Tech Support pans out. Or should I say the "shaky leaf" from Tech Support!!

By the way, my original issue was resolved...I think!
I'll leave you with my new mantra: "Climb YOUR tree!"

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There's a Whole Lot Happening!

It's been a while since I've had any time to post a new blog.  Some might be happy about that but then again, some might be waiting at their computers, anxiously awaiting more words of wisdom from Old Bones.  But for what it's worth, here goes!

The Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society conducts monthly meetings from September through the following June.  I've been the Vice President for about a year now and as I see it, we've made some great progress.  First, I offer membership applications to everyone who attends my genealogy classes.  That has garnered for us at least a dozen new members in the past few months. An conversely, some of the members have signed up to take some classes with me! To make our program more interesting, we've been conducting a few of our meetings via Google+ Hangouts.  Actually, the first real "virtual" meeting with Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective, was via SKYPE.  We've had 2 others so far, one with Dick Eastman author of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and the other with Dear Myrt, your friend in genealogy.  Dick gave us a very comprehensive look at MyHeritage.com, a very competent competitor for Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.  It's worth a look.  Dear Myrt challenged us in an interactive night of learning how to completely organize your genealogical research in 3 months.  Really!  3months!!

Next up is the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists, better known as (and easier referred to) NEAPG.  This group is composed of members of the parent association, the APG, who live in New England and find it worthwhile to meet and network with other professional genealogists throughout the region.  As of January 1, 2015, I will move from the Vice President seat to President of NEAPG.  This one's a little nerve wracking for me.  Although I operate as a professional and have several years of professional experience, I find many of the members to be people that I've known and respected for many years, some with national or even international reputations.  Nice to be rubbing elbows with this crowd!!  

Another aspect of my role in NEAPG is as the delegate to the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium's biennial conference.  The next NERGC convention will take place in Providence, Rhode Island April 15th through 18th.  If you're interested in attending, click here for a conference brochure and registration form.   And I suppose I should mention that I will be speaking there on Saturday, April 18, 2015.  Not that you'd come just to listen to me, but I'll be presenting "Search Strategies You Haven't Tried - Search Sites You Never Thought Of."  There'll be plenty of "BIG" name genealogists giving presentations in many areas of genealogy and genealogy research.  Some of the tracks include Colonial New England, Skill Building, Telling  Family Stories, Researching Women, Technology, Heirlooms, Migration (from other countries and across the US), Photographs, Military Research, Immigration/Naturalization, Ethnic Genealogy, DNA, Advanced Methodology and a great deal more!

Quite a bit more to talk about, but I think I need to save a few items for another day.

"Climb YOUR tree!"

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