Excerpt from the Society of the First African Families of English America Facebook Announcement: On behalf of the Board of Directors and our distinguished Conference Committee, it is with great pleasure that we invite you to join us for the 2027 SOFAFEA Annual Conference to be held at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, located at 428 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia 23220 , on April 23–24, 2027. This annual gathering offers an opportunity to reconnect with fellow members, strengthen friendships, share knowledge, and celebrate our collective interest in history, heritage, education, and community. We also encourage you to invite your family members and friends to join us for this special occasion. Their participation will make the conference an even more rewarding experience and provide an opportunity for people of different generations to learn, explore, and enjoy the rich history of Virginia together. The conference venue, the Virginia Museum of History & C...

Are you finding yourself using FamilySearch's Full Text Search feature more and more often? Do you also find yourself stumped when faced with the options on the search form? When would Keywords work best and when would Names work best? The RootsTech 2026 video presented by David Ouimette, " FamilySearch Full-Text Search—Your Golden Path to Ancestral Discovery ," provides some great tips for knowing when either is the correct choice. Keyword or Name search? When to use each. Check out the video Which query to use?    Ouimette states, "Keyword search and name search, while similar when searching for names, have different purposes and return different results when used to find names of people." Use the keyword field to search on any names, words, or phrases in transcribed records. The whole transcript will be searched, and it may return names that the other search might miss. While it may pick up other variations of a name, keyword search is not likely to catch a ...

If you are interested in DNA for family research, you will want to invest 15 minute in this video. Well known genetic genealogist CeCe Moore answers  she answers questions gathered from internet readers  in this short, informative video  produced by WIRED Tech Support. The "Ask Me Anything" style video provides entertaining and accurate coverage of many concepts covered in our search for DNA relatives and ancestors. Watch it on YouTube . CeCe Moore answers questions about DNA on YouTube Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Wake Genealogy Watch Newsletter | WCGS Facebook | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Resources |  Contact - info(at)wakecogen(dot)org

This will be great day for a great community! Nov 7, 11am-1pm. Learn about the Shiloh-Weaver Legacy Project and connect with community members, descendants, researchers and volunteers.  I am so glad to see the momentum building for this project. See the recap of last year's Shiloh Day . Address questions about this event to NC Triangle AAHGS Chapter . View all past articles on Shiloh Community Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Wake Genealogy Watch Newsletter | WCGS Facebook | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Resources |  Contact - info(at)wakecogen(dot)org

It looks like FamilyTreeDNA is getting into the eerie holiday spirit. This past week they have been choosing some spooky topics including - Mummies!  Their recent article  Are You Related to Real Mummies? What Your DNA Can Reveal   describes scientific study done on actual mummies. The DNA testing results "reveal genetic links between ancient remains and living descendents today. The studies use ancient DNA analysis on Y-DNA and Mito-DNA to make these connections. If you read the Mummy article you will meet mummies from Egypt, Europe, Australia, Siberia and the Americas. This is a fascinating read.  Source: pixabay/saydung Follow the full FamilyTreeDNA series for more spooky genetic tales on vampires and witches, too. The links are in the Mummy article. Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Wake Genealogy Watch Newsletter | WCGS Facebook | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Resources |  Contact - info(at)wakeco...

Holt Anderson asked that we share this Marine Birthday event with our readers.  Any questions about this event should be directed to Holt or the other names via the email addresses in the RSVP. Click to enlarge for details Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Wake Genealogy Watch Newsletter | WCGS Facebook | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Resources |  Contact - info(at)wakecogen(dot)org

Our October Meet-up event at the Apex FamilySearch Center was well attended by ten inquisitive WCGS members. The award for farthest traveled goes to new member, Nancy Coombs who drove up from South Carolina!  Barbara McGeachy's take-aways: FamilySearch offers free 30-minute virtual consultations. Sign up at https://www.familysearch.org/en/library/online-genealogy-help All FamilySearch Centers provide visiting researchers access to their twenty paid subscriptions. If you subscribed to each as an individual, it would cost over $2,500! The list includes MyHeritage, Ancestry, Fold3, American Ancestors, Find My Past, Goldie May, Newspaper Archives, and lots more that I never heard of! ( See the full list here. Scroll down to Premium Websites.)  When you use Full Text Search and find something useful, download it immediately! Every time you search, you'll get different results because they continually update the site. The Apex center offers genealogy classes the first and 3rd Satur...

Have you spent much time working with your DNA matches using Ancestry Clusters? Ancestry Custom Cluster - UnknownMatch LD, gather = 20-70cms. Red square includes known clusters, Lower right cluster is consists of unknowns. The clustering tool* is part of the add-on Ancestry Pro Tools subscritption . If you are working to validate your research or break through any major brick walls, this tool can be very helpful. If you choose to use the cluster tool, you may want to take a passing glance at your large personal cluster map for familiarity, but then take a look at the custom cluster layouts to work with specific lines and questions. I confess that, as offered, I have found both of these tools a bit awkward. If you worked with the standard cluster map of your ancestors, you have likely realized how much information is provided on one screen. It is useful, but it is large and like eating the proverbial elephant. If you have followed the Ancestry suggestion when creating custom cl...

For those following along, here is the latest Upchurch and Allied Families Association Newsletter. October 2026  - Features include family history preservation and a focus article on Edward Gray Upchurch of Alabama and California, founder of the Commercial Tire Company (1924). View past UAFA newsletters here Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Wake Genealogy Watch Newsletter | WCGS Facebook | Wake Cemetery Survey Images | Resources |  Contact - info(at)wakecogen(dot)org