2013 Fall Conference Announcement

GRIVA’s 2013 Fall Conference has been set for Saturday, October 19, 2013 at Clover Hill High School in Midlothian, VA. Our speaker will be genealogist Paul Milner.

Meet Paul Milner

Mr. Milner will present the following topics:

Irish Emigrants to North America: Before, During and After the Famine
Learn about the routes taken and the reasons for the emigration from Ireland to the U.S. and Canada before, during and after the famine. Learn how this mass movement of people can affect your research, plus what tools and records are available to trace your Irish ancestor.

Irish Maps and Tools for Finding the Right Place
Learn about the different ways to describe locations in Ireland, understand the creation of maps and the importance of the Irish Ordnance Survey both physically and culturally. Learn about the different types of maps that exist and how to access and read them.

Effective Use of England’s National Archives Website
Learn how to effectively use the research tools, indexes, images and catalogs on this large website to find your ancestors and to put them into their correct historical context.

Finding Your 17th Century Ancestors in England
Identify the best genealogical resources, original and published, to use for 17th Century research in England, and how to jump the gap created by England’s Civil War.

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HELP SPREAD THE WORD:
Print out three Conference Bookmarks to share with family, friends, and community groups.

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Check back soon for conference brochure, pricing, and registration information.

D.C. Bus Trip Planned For July

GRIVA is taking reservations for a bus trip to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, July 31, 2013. This is a different time of year from our past trips, and we’d love to have members, their families, and friends give this summer trip a try. How can you beat a hassle-free ride up I-95 during peak tourist season? Ride with GRIVA to research at the DAR Library, National Archives, or Library of Congress. Or, hop off the bus and continue to your own sightseeing destinations.

Please email our bus trip coordinator Cat Southworth as soon as possible to add yourself or your group to the passenger list.

TIPS FOR A SMOOTH SIGN-UP
Whether you register online at Paypal, by phone, or by mail, please make sure you provide the following:
• Names of all who are attending
• Email contact
• Telephone contact
• Pick up and Drop off Locations
• Research facility you plan to visit
• Or, mention that you will be touring on your own

PRICE INCREASE: As of this trip, we regretfully must increase the ticket charges to $40 for Members and $50 for non-members. GRIVA has struggled to keep the price low over the last few years as the bus companies have increased their rates to cover rising prices for gas and other costs of doing business. As a non-profit organization, we must strive to structure our activities to be as self-funding as possible. GRIVA values the support of its members who have taken our trips in the past and hopes that we will see all of you again on this or a future trip.

We Lunched, We Learned

Thanks to all who attended GRIVA’s Summer Member Luncheon today! It was a wonderful session of sharing information and celebrating our family research success stories.

For those who were unable to attend, here are just a few highlights of the topics we discussed:

Legacy Family Tree webinars are FREE to watch. Schedule of topics at this link:

http://www.familytreewebinars.com/upcoming-webinars.php

Looking for free access to the Social Security Death Index (SSDI)? FamilySearch.org has it:

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1202535

Article and many photos about the reconstruction of “Jane” and cannibalism at Jamestown:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2317815/Cannibalism-Jamestown-First-permanent-British-settlers-America-CANNIBALS-ate-girl-survive-deadly-1609-winter.html

Have you looked for your ancestors at Findagrave.com lately? Much has been added!

http://www.findagrave.com/

Doing West Virginia research? Birth, Marriage, and Death record images are online:

http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_select.aspx

We hope you will join us for more tips and tales at our next luncheon in January 2014.

DC and NC News

Hot news for a hot day in Virginia!

The date for our July bus trip to Washington, D.C. has been chosen. We hope that you can join us for a day of research or sightseeing on Wednesday, July 31, 2013.

And, if you were unable to attend last Tuesday’s Members’ Meeting, the handouts from Anne Price’s talk on North Carolina genealogical resources are now available in our Resources section.

Be Part of the New “News & Notes”

After a long period of assessing the needs of our membership and GRIVA’s financial position, the society is moving forward with transitioning our newsletter to a digital format. That’s the dull part of this announcement.

Now for some fun! We are excited to invite all of you to submit articles for our new publication! We want to hear about your family research. How did you break that brick wall? Tell us about your genealogical vacation. What family history treasure did you find hidden in a box in your cousin’s garage? Did you go to a great conference? Did you use a special process or program you would like to tell us about? Everyone who does research has stories to tell. We want to feature yours in News & Notes.

Articles do not need to be lengthy. Perhaps you have a wonderful photo that you’d like to share. Just write a few sentences or a short paragraph to describe it then send it in. Have you watched an online seminar or an interesting research documentary? Tell us about it. We’d love to publish your short review. Knowing our members, we expect to see many great topics presented in a creative way.

Please submit your articles to trish614@gmx.com. Our newsletter editorial team will confirm receipt and acceptance of your contribution and work with you if any technical enhancements are needed (copyediting, graphics, etc.). There are no deadlines! Submit any time you have an article ready.

Ready, Set, Publish!

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GRIVA would like to thank Jim Triesler and his Clover Hill High School students for their many years of work producing the paper copy of News & Notes. Sharon Garber will be taking the reins for the digital edition. The last paper/mailed edition of our periodical is at the printer (as of May 21, 2013 – ed.) and will be in your mailboxes next month.

A very limited number of printed copies will be made available to members who cannot access the Internet. If this applies to you, please write to GRIVA, P.O. Box 29178, Richmond, VA 23242-0178 to request this accommodation.

Ancestors From the Old North State

Do you have “tar heel” ancestors in your family tree? GRIVA’s May meeting will help you bring their lives into focus. GRIVA Board Member Ann Price will present a program on how to find and use North Carolina records. Her talk will include the history of the formation of the Carolina Colony, population movement sources that are critical to tracking your ancestors, and other helpful records that are available for consultation.

Mrs. Price is a retired teacher having taught 5 years in Chesterfield County at Falling Creek Elementary and Providence Middle School and nineteen at the Adult Career Development Center in Jackson Ward for Richmond City Schools. She is an active member of Huguenot Road Baptist Church and serves on the Guild Board of Covenant Woods Retirement Community and the Richmond Home Economics Association. She is a member of the Commonwealth Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Jamestowne Society, and past president of Order of First Families of North Carolina.

Join us for “Researching Your Family in North Carolina” on May 28, 2013 at 7:45 p.m. at the Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 West Huguenot Road, Richmond, Virginia. There will be a short GRIVA meeting before the program with refreshments and social time afterwards. Our meetings are free to the public and visitors are welcome.

LINK TO PROGRAM HANDOUT

Family Facts in CCC Records

Do you have an ancestor who took advantage of Federal work programs created during the 1930s? One of the most successful of those programs was the Civilian Conservation Corps, which provided jobs, income and skill development to millions of men during its existence. The records created about those who enrolled in the CCC can provide unique insight into the personality and experiences of your family members.

Debora Kerr of GRIVA will present a program that will show you how to determine if you have a CCC ancestor and what steps to take to obtain his personnel records. Many examples of her personal research into her own father’s CCC experience will be shared.

Join us for “Our Boy in the CCC: Researching Civilian Conservation Corps Ancestors” on April 23, 2013 at 7:45 p.m. at the Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 West Huguenot Road, Richmond, Virginia. There will be a short GRIVA meeting before the program with refreshments and social time afterwards. Our meetings are free to the public and visitors are welcome.

LINK TO PROGRAM HANDOUT

Board Member Honored By DAR

GRIVA Board Member Jim Triesler has been named the statewide 2012-2013 Outstanding Teacher of American History by the Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution.

Jim, a longtime member of GRIVA’s Board, is a teacher at Clover Hill High School in Chesterfield County, VA. He and his student volunteers have assisted our society with many publications and programs over the years.

Today’s Richmond Times Dispatch has a complete article about Jim’s achievement at this link.

Beyond GRIVA: Other Conferences

GRIVA’s Fall Conference is a long way away (an announcement is coming soon, we promise!), but our Virginia members may be interested in these upcoming events presented by other genealogical organizations:

Virginia Beach Genealogical Society Annual Spring Conference
Saturday, March 16, 2013
The speaker is Hank Jones, author of Psychic Roots: Serendipity and Intuition in Genealogy
At the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library, Virginia Beach, VA
Click for more details.

Virginia Genealogical Society Spring Conference
Saturday, April 20, 2013
The topic is Virginia, Her Daughters and Border Disputes: Who Has What Records?
At the AshCreek Club House Mechanicsville, VA
Click for more details.

Write Your History

Have you ever wished that your ancestors had taken the time to write about their lives? Of course you have! Don’t let your descendants down: learn how to leave a written chronicle of your own life at GRIVA’s March Members’ Meeting.

Linnea Ash, a Powhatan resident with twenty years experience in teaching writing, will introduce us to strategies for recording our memories, our histories and our life experiences in a memoir that your family will treasure.

Join us for “Opening a Door to Your History: Writing Your Memoir” on March 26, 2013 at 1:45 p.m. at the Bon Air Presbyterian Church, 9201 West Huguenot Road, Richmond, Virginia. There will be a short GRIVA meeting before the program with refreshments and social time afterwards. Our meetings are free to the public and visitors are welcome.