Genealogy Study Group

04/06/2026

Who doesn't like FREE stuffISBGFH has something NEW for YOU! Check out our Heritage Dispatch and Ask the Genealogist. Both are FREE, and details are on our website. See you soon!
www.ISBGFH.com

03/12/2026

Shoutout for March GSG Meeting.....

Hello Everyone!

It is that time of year when we all feel like contestants on the Wheel of Fortune. That would be the weather wheel of fortune or as of late, misfortune! For instance… you know you are a contestant when your daughter (or son) live close to Grand Rapids, Kent County. And their phone “alert” siren goes off stating that “Holland” is having a weather alert.

Tuesday was that kind of day…

“Hello? Hey mom, is everything ok over there, got an alert about high winds”. Yes, so far so good. Ok, just checking. 2 hours later, “Hello? Hey mom, is everything ok over there, got another alert about thunderstorms over there”. Yes, so far so good. 1 hour later, “Hello? Hey mom, is everything ok over there? I just got another alert for flooding, high winds and more severe thunderstorms”.. Yep, you heard right.. and so far, so good. Ok, I’m heading to bed… if you need anything, give us a call.

The next morning… Hey mom, You’re not going to believe this.. but I just got another alert that the roads are flooding, and it is snowing like crazy here, you can’t see Skip and Pat’s house across the street… so we aren’t going to come over today…. No problem, we got water over our roads too. Stay home and stay safe.

So today, “Hello? Hey mom, the sun is out, there is no wind, nothing falling from the sky and I”m sick of being hunkered down, wanna meet for lunch? Yes! See you in 45!

We laughed at how it felt like someone was spinning that Wheel of Fortune and not winning a darn thing, all day and night long.

I know almost all of you are “done” with winter and the weather roller coaster.

So Saturday is our next GSG Program!

Documents of the Deceased - Searching for papers of yesterday and planning for tomorrow

Last month I didn’t have my handouts to send in a timely manner, so I am sending them this month - in a separate email.

There will also be the handouts for this program included all in a separate email.

So enjoy this sunny day, and I will look forward to seeing you on Saturday!
Someone please spin the weather wheel so we can get another day like today! (and warmer!)

14 March 2026
11:00am (zoom room will open about 10:55am)

And as a reminder:
Our calendar year is as follows:
January - April: Zoom
May - No Meeting due to Tulip Time
June - September - In Person
October -November: Zoom
December - No Meeting due to holidays

We always meet on the 2nd Saturday of each month.
Time: 11:00am - 1:00pm
So fill your calendars now!
And watch for the shoutouts the Thursday before our meeting.

Handouts for Saturday will be a separate email to arrive shortly!

Megan

03/01/2026

A new month, a new calendar of events. Visit us at www.isbgfh.com Look for us at RootsTech (in person and online) for Special Membership deals!

02/13/2026

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

Welcome to another month of GSG! The weather has given us a break, and sun is shining today, and we are ready for yet another morning of laughing and learning!

Our theme this year is “Look How Far We Have Come”…. and keeping with that, we are going to help you get out of an old habit and start a new one!

We will have an updated opening slideshow (which we always do!), and a program with the most unusual title “So What?” You are going to have to join us to find out! Be sure you grab a notepad and writing utensil. There is NO HANDOUT for this presentation this month, but you will want to take a few notes. Sometimes writing things down helps more than having a handout, at least in my old age!

I will remind you that the first day of Spring is March 20th, which is now only 34 days away!

We will start at 11:00am so log in about 5 minutes prior to that.

I will be sending out the Zoom link shortly, so keep an eye out for that. Thanks for taking a bit of time out of your day to join us. We greatly appreciate it.

I will also be sending out an email or two on updating my spreadsheets - the new year housekeeping I need to do, so I would appreciate you taking a bit of time to review what I send and make and additions or subtractions to my files.

See you TOMORROW!!
HAPPY HEARTS DAY!!

Megan

02/06/2026

Visit us, Join us!

01/09/2026

January 2026 GSG Shoutout

Happy New Year and Hello everyone!

Many of you know I was a public school teacher my whole career.
And it is this time of year that the “teacher” in me rears up and early. Why? For some reason I can’t get out of the “are schools closed” due to some sort of weather event. Back when I first started, we have a “phone tree” that we all had a few staff members to call. Well, upon asking my kids how they now find out of there is a “Snow Day” and I was informed that all their phones start going off all at once, by getting a “robot” call, and an email, and a text, along with the creeper line on the TV. You can also check each districts website and there is usually a big screen stating the schools are closed on “X” day and date. And/Or all afterschool activities are cancelled too. They say their phones are lighting up for several minutes in a row, as the districts cover all their bases on contacting each student’s call number. Which brings me to this year’s GSG topic! Look How Far We Have Come

So now that we are doing Zoom through May – we don’t have to worry about going out in the cold, driving in hazardous conditions, slipping and sliding and all the other fun and names that we need to call Mother Nature yet again.

The first day of Spring for 2026 is: March 20th. That is only about 71 days away!

We will start off with a whole new Opening Slide show followed by a recording of a webinar I hosted this past weekend by a friend and colleague of mind from FamilySearch talking about Full-Text Search. This will seriously be a “Look How Far We Have Come” presentation!

We will start at 11:00am so log in about 5 minutes prior to that.
I will be sending out the ZOOM link shortly. There is no handout, but a link will be provided to you for a 15 page packet you may wish to print.

Thanks again for supporting the Genealogy Study Group as we start year 14!

See you Saturday, 10 January!
Megan

11/23/2025

Great Britain? UK? British Isles? Let’s break it down.

GB = England + Scotland + Wales
UK = GB + Northern Ireland
British Isles = UK + Republic of Ireland (+ Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey)

Wherever your ancestors came from across these islands, ISBGFH can help you explore those stories. Take advantage of our membership drive discount before time runs out! The sale ends on 30 November 2025, so join today and have access to our programming and British Connections Quarterly in December.

Visit www.isbgfh.com TODAY!

11/07/2025

New Membership Sale Extended!

Family History Month ended in October, so why would we extend our offer? We have had quite a few people reach out to say they missed the sale. Others want to know more about member benefits, and a few have enjoyed our online promotions because our ads have made them smile and reignited their interest in genealogy and family history. With so many different resources available online, you can embark on your genealogical journey from the comfort of your own home--but you need a roadmap. We have members from all over the world, so consider joining ISBGFH for a year at 30% off. We have programs, publications, people, and more -- every month! Visit www.isbgfh.com today!

11/06/2025

Hello everyone!

If anyone knows what happened to FALL, please tell Mother Nature to return it for a little bit more time. I am not ready for the winter weather, as all news outlets are reporting that we could be seeing anything from a dusting to 6” of show through Monday. But don’t be sad, the temps predicted for the middle of next week will be back into the 50’s and the snow will have melted.

But in the mean time… we have converted to ZOOM meetings, so there is no reason to bundle up and go out in the cold for a GSG meeting! So put on your cozy comfy weekend attire and join us for the last meeting of 2025!

Saturday 08 November is our meeting.

We will start at 11:00am so log in about 5 minutes prior to that.
We will kick off our opening slideshow, then a presentation by myself for the popular If It’s Free, It’s For Me!

I will be sending out the ZOOM link and handout to you Friday afternoon. We’ve been working on more information for you to have for your research to keep you busy until we meet again in January 10th.

Thanks again for supporting the Genealogy Study Group for 13 years!

See you soon!
Megan

10/23/2025

Wondering about joining? Another one of our membership benefits is a discount to our 1-day long Summer Institute and our 5-day long British Institute! Your membership not only gives you a discount but access to the recordings, syllabus and event (which are both VIRTUAL). So please consider becoming part of our ISBGFH membership by visiting www.isbgfh.com, join us during Family History Month and get a 30% off discount on a membership.

10/16/2025

Why consider joining? One of our membership benefits is access to our British Connections Quarterly from 1979 to our latest edition. This is not a newsletter but an educational journal. And as a bonus, we are currently indexing each quarterly with place names, surnames and more! Visit www.isbgfh.com, join us during Family History Month and get a discount on a membership.

10/10/2025