Family Tree Maker Special Interest Group Starts Up Again in August!

The Family Tree Maker SIG is starting up again and our next meeting will be on Saturday, August 17th beginning at 10:00 am in Room 2500D, just off of the cafeteria at University Medical Center. This meeting is prior to the PCGS monthly meeting @ 1:00 pm.

If you use Family Tree Maker or are interested in learning more about it, you are encouraged to join our group.  For more information please visit the FTM SIG blog site: http://ftmsig.wordpress.com/

Interesting Article about Proving your Genealogy Research

Here is an interesting article on proving you genealogy research. Keep it in mind if you are one of the many people studying the Mastering Genealogical Proof book by Thomas W. Jones.

Did I Prove It? Ten Questions To Ask Along the Way

by Harold Henderson | Jul 23, 2013

http://www.archives.com/experts/henderson-harold/prove-genealogy.html

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR OCTOBER FAMILY HISTORY MONTH

Ken Castle is looking for volunteers to make presentations during Family History Month at some of the local libraries.  

We currently have 8 interested libraries, some wide open in time, some with specific time slots.  The libraries are all over:

Valencia (near the airport), Mission (southeast Tucson), Joyner in Green Valley, Dewhirst in Catalina north of Tucson, Flowing Wells (west Tucson), Nanini (northwest Tucson), Wheeler Taft Abbett, Sr. (also northwest Tucson) and Dusenberry (River and Craycroft). Some additional libraries may join this list.

This is a wonderful opportunity to share family history.

Please contact him at:

starfire56@mindspring.com

or cell phone: 245-8431

150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg

This just in from FOLD3.COM:
The Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863
What can we say today about an event as historically significant and perpetually reviewed as the Battle of Gettysburg? It is seared into our consciousness like no other military engagement—probably as a result of Lincoln's impassioned Gettysburg Address. Or perhaps because the casualty count was the highest ever on American soil, or that this three-day battle was considered a crucial turning point in the Civil War. No matter whether your allegiance favors the North or the South, both nations suffered greatly. Now, one hundred fifty years later, we commemorate it.

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought ferociously and courageously by over 160,000 men over three days—1-3 July 1863—in and around the small rural town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The logistics and strategies of the battle are well documented. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fought the Union's Army of the Potomac, led by Major General George G. Meade. Lee's Army made significant progress and gained a good deal of ground during the first two days of battle, yet a Confederate strategy on the third day, known as "Pickett's Charge," was repulsed and the Union forced the Confederates to retreat. The result was a massive Union victory, foiling General Lee's attempted invasion of the north. Casualty estimates range upward of 51,000, including over 7,000 fatalities, with more dying from wounds and infections in the months ahead.

There are grisly stories of the aftermath. The citizens of Gettysburg suffered, too. Thousands of bodies required burial and tens of thousands of injured needed medical treatment. Makeshift hospitals overtook the town. Camp Letterman General Hospital was established east of Gettysburg a few weeks after the battle. It consisted of hundreds of tents and support services. It was winter before the last soldier departed.

It took a week to bury the dead and most were in shallow graves, hastily dug to avoid epidemics. Many Confederates were reinterred years later in southern states, while the Union dead were ultimately reburied in a location set aside a few months after the battle as the National Cemetery at Gettysburg. It was there, on November 19, 1863, that Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. It was two minutes long and less than 300 words, dedicated to "those who here gave their lives" so that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Explore the Civil War Collection on Fold3.com to learn more about the Battle of Gettysburg.

Family Tree DNA Sale - Sale Pricing Good Until July 26th

Click here for more information: FTDNA.com

Sizzling Summer Sale

Summer is once again upon us and it is time for our Sizzling Summer event! Our successful summers over the last two years have led us to offer you great values again this year.
We have been working with Illumina to offer our Family Finder autosomal test for only $99 during our summer event. In fact, if we receive enough orders at $99, Illumina may be able to help us keep it at this extremely low of rate of $99!
As you take advantage of our summer event, remember that the permanency of the $99 Family Finder test is actually in your hands!
Beginning on Thursday, June 27, 2013 and running until Friday, July 26, 2013, we will offer the following:
Family Finder was $289 Now $99
mtDNA Full Sequence was $289 Now $189
Y-DNA37 was $169 Now $129Y-DNA67 was $268 Now $208
Y-DNA111 was $359 Now $308
Family Finder + Y-DNA37 was $368 Now $228
Family Finder + Y-DNA67 was $467 Now $307
Family Finder + mtDNAFullSequence was $398 Now $288
Comprehensive Genome (Y-DNA67, FMS & FF) was $666 Now $496
REMEMBER: ALL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED AND PAID FOR BY 11:59pm CST, JULY 26, 2013, TO RECEIVE THESE SPECIAL PRICES.

Announcing the new Genealogy Research Skills Special Interest Group

PCGS has formed a new Special Interest Group called "Genealogy Research Skills", or GRS SIG for short. Our goal is to study educational books on genealogy research methodology, practice the skills learned, and discuss them for the purpose of improving our genealogy research skills. The first book we will study is Dr. Thomas Jones' Mastering Genealogical Proof .

The SIG consists of two teams–one will meet on Tuesday evening from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. and the other on Wednesday afternoon from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. The teams will meet every other month, beginning in July, on the 2nd Tuesday evening and 2nd Wednesday afternoon of the month.

Both teams will study the same book at the same pace so if someone needs to switch periodically there will be no interruption in their studies. Everyone is expected to read the assigned chapter and do that chapter's exercises before each meeting.

This SIG is open to PCGS members only. If you are interested in joining one of the teams, send an email to pimacountygenealogysociety@gmail.com with your name, email address, and which team you wish to join. But hurry, because the first meetings are due July 9 (Tuesday) and July 10 (Wednesday) where we will discuss the preface and first chapter exercises.

Registration for the Arizona Guided Research Trip Now Open

PCGS is now accepting registrations for the Arizona Guided Research Trip; an overnight trip to Phoenix and Mesa on November 1 and 2, 2013.

Polly Rosenbaum Archives & History
Building

We will begin our genealogy adventure at the Polly Rosenbaum Archives & History Building in
Phoenix on Friday, 1 November, at 9:30 a.m.  After a tour of the facility, we will travel to the Arizona State Genealogical Library on the 3rd floor of the Capitol Building.  The Genealogy Collection at the Arizona State Archives consists of materials from all 50 states as well as from some foreign countries, family histories, general indexes, journals, ship passenger lists, atlases and biographical encyclopedias. The State Buildings close at 5:00 p.m. at which time we will dismiss to the hotel.

Mesa FamilySearch Library

The following morning at 9:00 a.m., we will arrive at the Family History Training Center in Mesa for a lecture on navigating their website and a review of what is available at the library.  From there, we will commence to the Mesa FamilySearch Library at 10:00 a.m. for personal research. The Mesa FamilySearch Library, the largest Family History Center outside of Utah, is a branch of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Its holdings consist of over 700 Commercial CDs with genealogical research data, 40,000 books, 81,000 rolls of microfilm, 52,000 microfiche and more. The library closes at 5:00 p.m. and we will return to Tucson.

Your package includes a pre-trip class which will provide information needed for researching at the libraries we will be visiting, tips on organizing your research, and an opportunity to network with your fellow genealogists prior to the trip. It also includes transportation, handouts, and private behind-the-scenes tours with experienced archivists at all three locations. Individuals are responsible for making their own hotel reservations and meal costs. A block of reduced price rooms are available at Days Inn, 1750 E. Main St., Mesa for $54.99 (plus tax) for double occupancy or queen. The hotel offers a complimentary continental breakfast and free wifi. Instructions for obtaining the discount priced reservation will be emailed at the time of registration for the trip.

Space is limited to 40 people; preference will be given to PCGS members. Be advised that PCGS may cancel the trip if less than 15 participants are registered. Were this to happen, a full refund would be made of the amount paid to PCGS.

Preregistration is required and registration deadline is 21 September. Click here to download the registration form.