5 Reads Friday: Free research guides, 220-year-old artifacts, free webinars, & more!

Here is our quick round up of genealogy news that trended this week on social media — a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Get in the know for the weekend with these 5 reads from FGS:

Top Seven Free Canadian Genealogy Sites by Elizabeth LaPointe on the Genealogy Canada blog - If you have Canadian roots and need some guidance in where to research online, you'll want to check out Elizabeth's list.

Need some help with your family history research? Check out these FREE research guide downloads from the Minnesota Genealogical Society.

Find out what Massachusetts officials found when they opened up the 220-year-old time capsule. (NBCNews.com)

What will you be learning in 2015...for free? The Southern California Genealogical Society (SCGS) recently released their 2015 webinar lineup Grow What You Know. 

Family History TV Show Turns Up Surprise for St. Louis Woman — Listen to FGS President D. Joshua Taylor on St. Louis Public Radio discuss researching your family history and what we can all expect from season two of PBS' Genealogy Roadshow which premiers next Tuesday evening on your local PBS station.

5 Reads Friday: Skeletons, German research resources, & more!

Here is our quick roundup of interesting tidbits from the genealogy community that trended this week on social media — a smattering of this and a smattering of that. Get in the know for the weekend with these 5 reads from FGS: 

1. Apparently, when one case closes, another one opens and another "skeleton" emerges. At least it did for Richard III and his DNA results. The Legal Genealogist  explains it all in Case Closed ... and Another Opened.
2. If you are researching your Irish Roman Catholic roots, the National Library of Ireland confirmed it will be digitizing and making available Irish Roman Catholic registers online. Get all the details from Claire Santry on Irish Genealogy News.
3. If you have German roots, you'll want to check out the German Genealogy Group's website which is full of all sorts of research resources and tips for the family historian. Not only did our tweet about them this week do very well on Twitter, we highlighted them on our Facebook Page today for #FollowFriday.
4. Planning to do some research at the Family History Library when you attend FGS 2015 in Salt Lake City in February? Tonia gives you her tips for visiting the library which holds the largest collection of genealogy materials in the world.
5. On Facebook this week, we shared a very helpful guide that is perfect for societies with members who are reluctant to use technology. It's definitely a common problem and this guide gives some great ideas to help society leaders overcome it. (WildApricot.com)

Access untapped resources for finding your ancestors. Find a society in FGS Society Hall today.

5 Reads Friday: Free webinars, Ellis Island, & more!

Here is our quick round up of genealogy news that trended this week on social media — a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Get in the know for the weekend with these 5 reads from FGS:

The Role of Grandparents in the Modern Family — In both the blog post and the short video, they stress how grandparents tend to be the keepers of the family history and how they are able to "mesmerize" their grandchildren with the family stories.

Illinois State Genealogical Society  Announces 2015 FREE Webinar Lineup — a great lineup of family history education for 2015 provided by ISGS.

Ellis Island, Past and Present: Tracing the First Steps of Millions to America from The Washington Post — These creative photos tell an incredible story of America's past.

Why do you love to #explorearchives? — Read Steven McGann's passionate explanation of why he loves to explore archives. Lots of good reasons for family historians as well.

Watch FGS Ambassador & Genealogy Vlogger Caitlin Gow's enthusiastic video response to this month's November Ambassador prompt. She reveals why she's going to FGS 2015, which sessions she plans to attend, and more!

5 Reads Friday: Photo Editors, Newspaper Research, FGS New Hangout On Air, & More

5 Reads Friday from FGS.org

Here is a quick round up of genealogy news that has been trending this week on social media — a little bit of this, a little bit of that, some FGS, some family history, some technology, etc. Get in the know for the weekend with these 5 Reads from FGS:

Conducting Genealogical Research Using Newspapers from the New York Public Library — They did a thorough job with this topic and also give a great outline for research that can be used not just at NYPL, but anywhere with offline and online newspaper collections and indexes — public libraries, university libraries, private libraries, archives, historical societies, and (of course) genealogical societies (cough, cough).

National Archives Piece Together the Records of 140,000 First World War Officers by Culture24.org.uk — This is an incredible digitization and cataloging project the National Archives in the UK has done. Not only that but they have an online guide to help you search the collection, and take a look at their lovely online platform, First World War.

10 Free Photo Editor Tools To Make the Most of Your Shots from makeuseof.com — Nowadays, what genealogist, family historian, or genealogical society (or anyone for that matter) is not having to deal with editing images? 

23 Free Non-profit Webinars for November 2014 from Wild Apricot — Societies, this is a great opportunity coming in November to take a look at some solutions to help you out with your society and its mission, projects, volunteers, and more.

FGS Google+ Hangout on Air, Connect with FGS — The new monthly hangout on air starts November 6th at 9PM ET hosted by Linda McCauley and myself. Special guests this episode include Cyndi Ingle (Cyndi's List), J. Mark Lowe, and Paula Stewart-Warren. Linda and I are pretty excited about it, but I think we underestimated just how excited YOU would be about it. (Who knew this news would trend?) We will see you live next week on our YouTube channel. Or since it will be recorded you can watch it later on the FGS YouTube channel.