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A pleasant Zoom meeting on a cold, Covid lockdown, afternoon!

25/7/2021

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With the lockdown extending to our July session, we decided to meet on Zoom.  Eight people responded to the invitation and, despite one class member being restricted to audio and the break in the sessions seeming to come very quickly, our first Zoom session led to a cold afternoon in lockdown being passed in a pleasurable manner.

Quite a range of activities kept members busy over the last month including - reviewing and organizing older files; trying to overcome a brickwall in finding letters of administration for an estate; receiving and following up contact from two DNA matches; joining Benalla Family Research group; experiencing the joys of My Heritage reports feature, but also the pitfalls of its constant matching requests; finding family photos to include in a memorial for a loved 103 year old aunt who died recently.  One report resulted in empathising chuckles - it described difficulties in working on their family tree caused by accidentally pouring water into their laptop! 

‘I wish I’d known’ proved to be a varied and interesting topic for the month as members talked about who they wished to meet and the questions they would like to ask this particular ancestor. Some of these ancestors long gone included a half-brother never known and his sad isolation from his father and second family; a godfather only known from childhood days and the wish to understand his link to the family; a gg grandfather to discover details which would help solve the mysteries of the family line; a set of grandparents who had had a particularly rich civic and personal life; and the search to fill in the gaps in of a grandmother’s life story. One member shared fascinating snippets about a parent’s family friend, having discovered she was a talented artist who may not have had descendants to recognise her special abilities and skills.  Another wanted to talk to a gg grandfather to identify an unmarked photo, possibly the only one known of this ancestor who emigrated as part of the Scottish Clearances. The full detail of these fascinating stories can be read at u3abenalla.weebly.com/family-stories/category/i-wish-id-known .

The topic for our family research meeting on Thursday 26 August from 1 to 4pm is ‘A Family Secret’.  The brief: Have you come across, or do you suspect, a family secret or two in your tree?  Write about a family secret you don’t mind sharing with others.

Bev Lee and Wendy Sturgess
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Zoom meeting during July lockdown...

22/7/2021

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With the extended lockdown we will sadly be unable to meet in person tomorrow.  Chatting with Wendy today, we decided to offer a Zoom meeting instead.  We hope to provide the opportunity to share the month's family research progress, 'highs' and 'lows' and to share stories on this month's topic ‘I wish I’d met/known’.   A reminder of the brief:  ‘Sometimes while we are researching we come across someone we wish we'd met or known.  Write about them, what intrigued you about them and what questions you would like to ask them if you'd met.'  

If you are able to send your stories, photos, power point presentations before the session to go on the website that would be great, however feel free to send them in afterwards, or as always, present your story orally.  

I know that a number of you are very comfortable using Zoom, but others may need some support.   Please email me back or call me to let me know if you wish to attend but would like some help with Zoom beforehand?  

Here's the invitation with the link:
Topic: Family Research July Zoom Meeting
Time: Jul 22, 2021 02:00 PM 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79633997458? pwd=RGtHY1VXalpKbGFoN2p2VGEyVnpUQT09

Meeting ID: 796 3399 7458
Passcode: DV6ZhG

If we need more than an hour, we will take a break at about 55 minutes to get a coffee, then rejoin the meeting.  


Bev

5762 8171  or 0478 607 838  bevlee47@gmail.com
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Family Research in June - Guest Speaker:  Professor Jim Burnell on DNA and its regulation

5/7/2021

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​Eleven people met for a U3A session of Family Research on Thursday 24 June. In the pains and gains session (ie: what was achieved since the last meeting), DNA results (good and “bad”); techniques of using Ancestry tools to enhance research; difficulties encountered with Irish records; shipping records results and stories about sharing of information with family were recounted.  Wendy Sturgess brought along a family bible and two old family albums which she recently had beautifully restored and collected since the last meeting.
Jim Burnell, a retired Professor of Molecular Biology at James Cook University, then shared his detailed knowledge on DNA and its regulation. He explained how the interpretation we receive after submitting a test works with identification of our ancestral lineage.  He also explained how regulation of the genes impacts in disease processes and the potential for cure. This kept everyone fascinated and many questions were answered.
​After the break, members spoke about contacts they had made with new people during their individual research and their ongoing relationship with them, helpful or otherwise, in response to June’s topic ‘Found’[BL1] .

Next month’s topic is ‘I wish I’d met/known’. The brief:  ‘Sometimes while we are researching we come across someone we wish we'd met or known.  Write about them, what intrigued you about them and what questions you would like to ask them if you'd met.'
​
Wendy Sturgess
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    Family Stories

    Family Research

    ​Family Research is a guided self-help group for members who are already working on their family tree.  Sessions commence with report backs on ‘pains and gains’ during research over the previous month accompanied by shared problem solving,  encourage-ment and ideas for next steps.  Presentations by group members and guest speakers provide inspiration and suggestions of different approaches and resources.  Stories are also shared each month on topics designed to encourage deeper reflection on our research.  

    Family Stories Topic List 2023

    Convenor/s Contact Details

    Bev Lee
    ​0478 607 838

    Barry O'Connor
    ​0407 266 688

    Jane Rushworth
    ​0437 621 575

    Meeting Times

    4th Thursday 1 to 4 pm

    List of Family Stories topics - 2023
    Finding the Alphabetical List of Names on Ancestry.com (Barry O'Connor)
    Graeme's Glossary - idea under construction 

    Links

    Benalla Family Research Group 
    Trove
    'More on Trove'
    Everyone Loves Trove (Podcast)
    'Lee Devitt Family History Blog' Bev Lee
    Digby Family Stories - Penny Bristol Jones
    DNA Detectives and the End of Family Secrets

    Hands on...

    Program to convert PDF files to Word –https://www.pdf2go.com/pdf-to-word

    Photo restoration - simple projects - 
    https://hotpot.ai/restore-picture

    ​HEREDIS 

    ancestry.com.au

    myheritage.com

    ​Scotland's People 

    findpenguins.com
    ​

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