GS News

Join The National Institute for Genealogical Studies for FREE virtual meetings on various genealogical topics. These meetings are a place to ask questions and learn methodology and resources. We hope to see you there!

Do you have any questions about your research? Join us for a virtual meeting applicable to your question. Even if you don’t have questions you are welcome to just listen, lurk and learn! We don’t mind in the least.

GENEALOGY TIP for June ... attend National Institute virtual meetings

It is with great sadness that we post this notice that Jim Avery passed away this last weekend. Jim Avery was an important part of the GenealogyWise community. His contributions to his educational chats and helping others via the Chat Room will be greatly missed. 

You can read Jim's obituary at http://www.kreamerfuneralhome.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1653829. It reads:

James V. Avery, Jr. of Dover, PA, York County died Sunday September 6, 2015 in his residence. 

Born in Harrisburg on January 11, 1949,

Looking to learn more about understanding of your ancestor’s life? The National Institute for Genealogical Studies is proud to announce a new course written by genealogist and social historian Barbara J. Starmans, PLCGS, Research: Social History.

About social history Barbara Starmans writes,

“Social History is not concerned with politics and wars, or kings and presidents, but rather with the lives of ordinary people. It is a view of history from the bottom up, rather than from the top down. Lookin

Have Italian roots? Then you'll want to check out the  newest course from The National Institute for Genealogical Studies, Italian: Civil Registration-Part 1.

Written by professional genealogist and Italian research expert Melanie D. Holtz, CG this course looks at civil registration, one of the largest and most important record sets in Italian genealogical research.

In this course, you will delve deeper into three main types of records: birth records [both regular and supplemental], marriage recor

Looking to learn more about genealogy research? Need some new skills? The National Institute for Genealogical Studies has over 200 genealogy courses and new ones starting all the time. There’s nothing like looking forward to a new month of genealogy courses and this month we have quite a few new ones you’ll want to register for. New courses begin today, Monday, February 2, 2015. But there’s still time to register.

Writing the Genealogist’s Memoir

As a genealogy researcher for your family, you can

Think you know how to use FamilySearch? Maybe you’ve never used FamilySearch? Now’s the time to learn more with the new course  Research: FamilySearch Resources - In Person and Online  from  The National Institute for Genealogical Studies.

FamilySearch is one of the important websites in the field of genealogical research. The FamilySearch free website is just one part of a larger network, provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch includes over 3 billion names glob

Have Canadian ancestors or just need to know more about researching archives in Canada? The National Institute for Genealogical Studies course Canadian: Archival Centres has been updated and enhanced and will help you learn more about archives and their collections in Canada. This course covers:

• Finding Aids
• National & Provincial Archives
• Local & University Archives
• Religious, Ethnic & Specialized Archives
• Using the Archival Records
• Specific Groups of Records
• And much, much, more...

Learn more about thi

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies is proud to announce a new course authored by Shauna Hicks, Australian Newspapers and Biographies.

Newspapers are a wonderful research tool as they can provide background information on our ancestors that may not be found in official documents. As well as the expected notices of births, engagements, marriages, deaths, burials and obituaries we may also find reference to their sporting activities or involvement in community events. References to inso

Researching African American  genealogy can be difficult but it is not impossible. The new National Institute for Genealogical Studies course Research: African American Ancestors focuses on three aspects of genealogical research and how these relate specifically to researching African Americans: research skill, knowledge of records, and understanding of historical context. 

The course is organized into reverse chronological eras, beginning with the twentieth century and moving through the late ni

Often in genealogical research we concentrate on researching those who lived in earlier centuries. However, documenting the lives of our more recent ancestors is equally important.

2014 marks the 100th Anniversary of World War I and the 70th Anniversary of World War II’s D-Day. In honor of this anniversary, The National Institute for Genealogical Studies is proud to announce the latest course by author and World War II researcher Jennifer Holik, Research: American World War II Ancestors - Part 1

Newspapers are an essential  resource for tracing our ancestors and now with so many websites hosting digitized newspapers, researchers can access more information about their ancestors than ever before.

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies is proud to announce the update to our popular US Newspaper Records course.

This course will introduce you to newspapers as a genealogical resource; from an introductory overview of newspapers, and a look at the history of American newspapers to acce

• More great Chats on a variety of topics
• A FAQ link to help answer your questions about GenealogyWise
• Additions to our Group Indexing Project

The following is from an article I wrote that appeared in the 18 December 2009 GenWise Newsletter.--Gena Philibert Ortega, Community Manager, GenealogyWise

One of the subjects that has come up in the last week has to do with social networking sites and privacy.  I would like to address some of the issues that you may want to consider as you use any social networking site whether that is GenealogyWise, Facebook, Twitter or many others. 

I think one of the important things to remember is that by p

This morning, Sunday October 11, one of our members, Dawn Evans Stringer, passed away from a heart attack.  You can read her husband's statement at http://www.genealogywise.com/profiles/blogs/this-will-be-the-last-post-for.

Dawn was a wonderful, kind person that many of us will miss. If you knew Dawn, please feel free to write your thoughts on her member page for her husband and family to read.  Her member page is at http://www.genealogywise.com/profile/DawnEvansStringer.

Gena Philibert Ortega   

 Kelli Davis Underhill Honored as Our 4^th GenealogyWise Angel

GenealogyWise has given our ^4th GenealogyWise Angel Award to "Kelli Davis Underhill". If you have not met Kelli yet you probably have not been on any of the Texas groups, N.C. groups, or even some Indiana groups. Kelli is a Geneaholic from way back, and has been one of my Look-Up Angels from day one. She is a Group Admin of at least 17 groups.

Kelli loves anything to do with genealogy, and more than that I think she just loves helping p

GenealogyWise has given our 2^nd GenealogyWise Angel Award to Gail Winstanley. If you have not met Gail yet, I am sure you will soon. Gail helped us in the very beginning set up the site, and she continues to help volunteer where needed. She has made graphics for GenealogyWise, she has also helped with some of the content that is going into the “Welcome Center” Faq-Help page that will be released to the members soon. Last, but not least you can find Gail in any volunteer group. She is a Look-Up