Meeting Overview

The Irish SIG meeting focused on discussing upcoming meeting times and exploring Irish genealogical resources. Paula announced that the next meeting would be held on March 9th at 2:30 PM and would run until 4:00 PM. The group then explored the Irish Genealogy website, with Paula demonstrating how to search for records and Janice sharing her success in finding a burial record for her ancestor Hugh Greg. They discussed various genealogical resources, including church records, civil registrations, and online databases. The conversation ended with a brief discussion about newspaper clippings and the challenges of researching ancestors who lived in different eras.

Meeting Time and Irish Programming

The group discussed changing their meeting time to March 9th at 2:30 PM, with Paula agreeing to send an email to confirm the new schedule. They also talked about a PBS series called "From That Small Island: The Story of the Irish," which Paula recommended watching. Janice shared information about Ancestry's heritage tours, which allow users to virtually visit ancestral locations. The group briefly discussed other PBS shows related to Ireland, including "Ridley" and "Ireland with Michael."

Irish Genealogy Research Resource

The group discussed the Townland Atlas book by Brian Mitchell, which Paula shared is a valuable resource for researching Irish ancestors in Ulster. Paula explained how the book provides detailed information about townlands, civil parishes, registration districts, and maps, which can help researchers navigate their genealogical searches more efficiently. The group agreed that the book's organization and content were well-structured and helpful, and Paula offered to lend it out to members who could benefit from its information.

Irish Genealogy Resources Discussion

Janice shared her experience with a $75 virtual tour of Ireland and mentioned that she would receive a recording of it. Paula inquired about accessing the Education Center on Ancestry, and Janice agreed to provide the link. They discussed new genealogical resources, including access to Irish genealogy records and upcoming Zoom classes from Irish by Ancestry. Julie was thanked for her outstanding research plan, which others planned to follow and improve upon.

Irish Genealogy Research Challenges

Paula explored Irish genealogy resources, specifically church and civil records, but encountered difficulties finding specific records. She discovered that IrishGenealogy.ie appears to focus on records from the Republic of Ireland, rather than the whole island. Paula expressed uncertainty about the coverage of the site and discussed the complexity of accessing records across both the Republic and Northern Ireland. She suggested that Janice, who is in Dublin, might be able to assist further by looking up her own information. The group successfully located a burial record for Janice's ancestor Hugh Greg in Dublin from 1787 using an online database. They discussed various Irish genealogy resources, including church records, civil registrations, and online databases like Roots Ireland and the National Library of Ireland. Janice shared her experience with newspaper clippings from America mentioning Irish ancestors, and the group explored the challenges of researching Irish genealogy compared to other countries. Paula announced she would send an email next week to continue the discussion and share any new resources or information.

Next Steps

1. Paula: Send an email to the group next week about the proposed March meeting time (2:30 PM on March 9th) and solicit feedback on day/time preferences 

2. EWGS (Julie): Send out a link to the edited recording of this meeting, cutting out the initial discussion about hours

3. Paula: Text Ron a picture of the potential Boyd connection 

4. Janice: Attempt to get a recording of the Ancestry heritage tour video  

5. Janice: Put the link to Ancestry's Education Center in the chat

Group led by Janice Moerschel

Welcome and Announcements

We watched the following video done by Connie Knox (on YouTube). Below the link I have highlighted some key points. Click here

Connie Knox "Maximizing Ancestry 3 Secrets the Pros Use (updated Sep 2025)  (about 35 minutes) Some key points:

• don't select all trees when reviewing tree hints • check out the trees with sources

• check the member tree's gallery

• view images

• don't select 'all trees' unless doing a q&d tree, adding a 'floating tree,' or doing descendant research

• open records - check each name to make sure the record is attached to right person

• tell Ancestry why, i.e., give feedback, when you are saving/accepting a record or hint (or not) as it helps the algorithyms

• check your ethnicity estimates to see where your common ancestor may appear in their branch (Connie explains)

• Avoid duplicating people in your tree. (I always check my tree after I've saved a record)

• Compare your info to member trees. If yours is more accurate/better, don't choose their tree info. 

Edit info - if - and as needed.

For our next meeting, we may discuss Networks (a ProTools feature). 

I am open to additional suggestions and volunteers to present a topic.

*** I meant to mention that Ancestry.com is offering tours - some group tours are virtual. I attended one shown in Dublin (Leinster area), Ireland last week. (Other countries are offered.) The tours involving actual travel, well, those would cost the most, of course. Then there is the virtual travel, which can be tailored to suit - this costs more as well - but not as much as traveling there. I did the virtual group tour (on Zoom, at home) for $75. Watch Crista Cowan's video (which is posted at the "Education Center.". https://www.ancestry.com/c/discover/education. Look down through the selections in the Education Center for the video on "Heritage Travel."***

Our next TAG meeting is Thursday, March 12. Topic - possibly the "Networks" feature available with a ProTools subscription. Other ideas or volunteers to present on a topic are welcomed.

Attendance (19): Ruth Anne Halligan, Chris Murphy, Ardis Storms, Virginia Omoto, May Cotton, Juanita McBride, Barbara Gumm, Karen Lehfeldt, Sandi Gaffney, Lynda Keenan, Dianne Bongarts, Cindy Peterson (new to our group), Patricia Robinson, Albert Calderon, Ron Martin, Kelly Taylor, Carol  Hsu, Judy Benson, Janice Moerschel

IRISH GROUP SIG MEETING JANUARY 2026 Lead by  Paula Davis

Meeting Overview The EWGS (Eastern Washington Genealogical Society) Irish Special Interest Group held a comprehensive Zoom meeting focused on genealogy research strategies, organizational methods, and educational resources. 

The session brought together genealogy enthusiasts to share experiences, tools, and best practices for Irish ancestry research.

Participant Introductions

• Charlotte joined from Honolulu as a visitor

• Sharon, Janet, and others participated from the Hayden Lake Library study room

• Dick was welcomed as a new EWGS member

• Paula hosted the meeting with assistance from Ron and Julie

Genealogy Resources and Tools FamilyTreeWebinars.com

• Many webinars are free to watch live

• Free resources available in their library

Legacy Family Tree

• Online platform offering genealogy courses • Annual subscription: $50

• Janice shared positive experiences with this platform

American Ancestors

• Dick completed a 5-week genealogy course focusing on New England research ($125)

• Offers valuable resources and free consulting hours

• Particularly useful for tracing Irish and Jewish ancestors

• Features an impressive library in Boston that both Paula and Dick admired

• Paula utilized their resources for a research trip to Ireland

Ancestry Heritage Travel

• Krista Cowan's video about virtual travel options was discussed

• Janice agreed to send out the link to the group

• Paula considering booking a virtual heritage tour

YouTube Educational Content

• Ron uses YouTube to learn from genealogy experts

• Recommended experts: Krista Cowan and Connie Knox

Ancestral Findings Podcast

• Paula shared her positive experience with this resource

• Emphasizes planning and budgeting for genealogical research

Software and Analysis Tools

Family Tree Maker

• Can sync with Ancestry for backup purposes

• standalone database program not dependent on online services

• Dick uses it in conjunction with Ancestry, maintaining individual folders for 32 direct ancestors

• Marge recommended it as a reliable backup solution

Mac Family Tree 11

• Syncs with FamilySearch but not with Ancestry

• Janice shared her experience using this software

Family Tree Analyzer

• Ron uses this tool to identify and correct errors in family trees

• Helps find duplicates and incorrect dates

Ancestry Pro Tools

• Currently on sale

• Ron uses these tools to identify and correct tree errors

My Heritage

• Offers a free tree checker

• Features "My Stories" platform for creating family narratives

• Janice uses this for writing family histories

Organization Methods and Strategies

Digital Filing Systems

Janice's Method

• Uses folders organized by name and record type

• Digital filing system for easy retrieval

Ron's Approach

• Creates surname folders with individual subfolders for each person

• Includes all related documents in each person's folder

• Uses maiden names for women's files

• Relies on Ancestry to track connections between spouses

• Photographs old albums and creates detailed file systems

• Uses detailed naming system for digitized photos

• Stores files in cloud storage

Dick's System

• Syncs Ancestry with Family Tree Maker

• Maintains individual folders for 32 direct ancestors

File Naming Conventions

Julie recommended Thomas McKinty's file naming convention:

• Last name

• First name

• Birth and death dates

• Document type

Research Philosophy

• Ron emphasized focusing on one person at a time to build comprehensive family history

• Paula stressed the importance of creating research plans

• Maintaining organized locality records was highlighted as crucial

Irish Genealogy Specific Resources

Understanding Irish Records

Land Divisions and Record-Keeping

• Paula emphasized the importance of understanding Irish land divisions

• Identifying townlands is crucial for ancestral research

• Paula found her great-grandfather's townland through a baptism index

Townland Atlas of Ulster

• Paula uses this book extensively for genealogical research

• Softcover version will be available in March

• Valuable resource for understanding Irish geography and records

Research Assistance

• Paula offered to assist others in researching their Irish ancestry

• Group agreed to focus on Irish genealogy research in the next meeting

Special Projects and Writing Family Narrative Creation

• Janice uses My Heritage's My Stories platform for creating family narratives

• She researched Dublin during the potato famine for a writing project

Photo Digitization

• Ron described his comprehensive method of digitizing family photos

• Uses detailed naming system for organization

• Stores digitized photos in cloud storage for preservation and accessibility

Upcoming Events and Opportunities RootsTech

• Pam suggested waiting for the event to find discounts

• Offered to collect discount codes for interested members

Research Like a Pro Program

• 14-day mini-challenge available

• Members encouraged to participate and share results at next meeting

Action Items and Next Steps

Individual Assignments

Janice

• Send out link to Ancestry Heritage Travel video by Krista Cowan

Paula

• Inform group if she books a virtual heritage tour

• Select useful resource links from recent email for next meeting discussion

• Organize and facilitate next meeting's agenda including live research examples, resource reviews, and member presentations

Julie

• Share discount code and ordering information for FamilyTreeWebinars.com

• Share group's contact spreadsheet (names and emails) for collaborative research

Group Activities

• All interested members: Consider participating in "Research Like a Pro" 14-day mini-challenge

• All interested members: Prepare 4-5 minute presentation or specific research question for next meeting

• Monthly feature implemented: members can present specific research challenges for group input

Meeting Leader: Janice Moerschel

Ancestry website: Note that Ancestry now as "custom clusters," for DNA. These groups you can create on your own but also see the standard results that Ancestry creates. Available only for ProTools subscribers.

Janice demonstrated how to add photos to an album in the "Memories" section.

Ron Marvin presented details of searching on Fold3. He showed how to use Fold3 to research military ancestors and how to narrow down results by conflict and location. He discussed strategies for finding specific individuals in this large database and shared tips on using the platform's features to gather information about regiments, battles, and other historical context related to military service. He also showed what is available at the National Park Service website.

Additionally, he shared that records may have spelling and transcription errors. Another way to search is from an Ancestry profile page. He also mentioned that Cheryl Garrison writes detailed stories about World War II veterans from Washington State. One more great tip was to search a service member by their service number, if you have it! I found that my father's draft record for WW II had his number there and will search for him now. Thank you, Ron - great job!

Janice shared that if you create a profile page on Fold3 for a relative, you can add photos, records and stories - and search for records from that profile. At Ancestry, add a "tag" to show a person's military service. Use the card catalog to find military records. Choose "military," location, conflict, etc.  Also note that it is easier to search Ancestry (or FamilySearch) first to see what records may exist. If you find a given record, you may just get one image but, with subscription to Fold3, you may be able to click view to see all images.

Ruth shared that if you place a space after a name in a search bar at Fold3, it may yield more accurate search results, particularly for an unusual surname.

Janice and Ron shared some military veteran stories.

Paula talked about "Wreaths across America." You can contribute money ($17 for a wreath) or you can help lay wreaths on December 13 at the Pines Cemetery. Order wreaths by November 28. Thank you for telling us all about this - what a great way to honor veterans! Learn more here:https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org

We watched Connie Knox on finding military records (about 13 min. video) https://youtu.be/wRReHd1NFOo?si=-R7d2p4pWaPnMe5M

I also recommend webinars hosted by the LegacyFamilyTree website which has two recent military records videos that you can watch for free. Visit this link. https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar-library/ One is on Colonial ancestors, and another on World War I. Their videos and video library cover a wide variety of genealogical topics. If you want, you can subscribe. Currently, these two videos are free to watch. These are other videos that may be helpful to folks searching for military records. Note that Fold3 is free until Nov. 16 (Sunday).

Crista Cowan on "Finding the Stories of your military ancestors," Ancestry Education: https://www.ancestry.com/c/discover/education/military-ancestors

Ancestry Academy has short videos about using Fold 3 https://www.ancestryacademy.com/browse

Allen County Library video on navigating Fold3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYfde5nt3Qw

Allen County Library: How to Maximize your search at Fold3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBv7-Zt5YGs

TAG had 16 participants:  Albert Calderon, Brusan Rhoda Wells, Carol Hsu, Charlotte Sullivan,  Dolly Webb,  Janice Moerschel, Juanita McBride, Judy Benson, Karen Kruse Lehfeldt (Clarkston), Kelley Taylor,  Marge Mero, Patricia Robison, Paula Davis, Ron Marvin, Ruth Halligan (Calif.),  and Sandi Gaffney

The next meeting of TAG will be on Thursday, January 8, 2026. I am looking for topic suggestions and/or presenters. This group is here to help you and provide content that interests you

. Meanwhile, thank you, veterans, and have a Happy Thanksgiving and a great holiday season!