Judy G. Russell
@legalgen.bsky.social
📤 918
📥 717
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Genealogist, photographer, owned by Ragdolls
Together, on this day, in a tangible way, we can not just remember but make remembering matter more.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2026/01/27/o...
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On this day, remember
Make remembering matter more Today, the 27th of January, is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.[1. See “International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust,” UNESCO (http...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2026/01/27/on-this-day-remember/
about 2 months ago
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Here, in 2026, on this federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., there is an apology worth repeating.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2026/01/19/a...
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An apology worth repeating
To the families of the victims... Here, in 2026, on this federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., there is an apology worth repeating. It begins with a story from some years ago...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2026/01/19/an-apology-worth-repeating/
about 2 months ago
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An ancestor whose will was probated in Virginia 300 years ago. A family member who died in the Revolution 250 years ago. All the way up to a niece turning 50 (!!!!) this year. Family milestones are worth recording!
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2026/01/11/m...
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Milestones 2026
Looking back to 2025, forward to 2026 There's no doubt about it. The very best part of genealogy is the stories. Stories in The Legal Genealogist’s family take us back a long way in America on the mat...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2026/01/11/milestones-2026/
2 months ago
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For The Legal Genealogist, it's not so much the start of 2026 as it is the start of 1930! Hooray for the ticking of the copyright clock!
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2026/01/02/w...
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Welcome to 1930!
The copyright clock keeps ticking For most folks in the United States, this is the second day of January 2026. For The Legal Genealogist, it's the second day of 1930. No, that's not a typo. I really d...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2026/01/02/welcome-to-1930/
2 months ago
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Going into year 15 at The Legal Genealogist... Happy New Year 2026!
#Genealogy
#Family
History
www.legalgenealogist.com/2026/01/01/h...
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Happy New Year 2026!
Fourteen years and counting… Fourteen years ago today, on the first of January 2012, the very first post appeared here at The Legal Genealogist. It explained that: My purpose in writing The Legal Gene...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2026/01/01/happy-new-year-2026/
3 months ago
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As the year draws to a close, The Legal Genealogist pauses to give thanks.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/12/30/2...
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The Official TLG 2025 Thank You List
To the hosts and more of 2025 Wait just a minute here. Hold on. It isn’t really already…? How can it be…? Seriously…? Can it really be the end of 2025? Yep. Here we are again, coming up fast on the en...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/12/30/2025-thank-you-list/
3 months ago
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So you traded in the ugly sweater for returns cash? Some ideas on what to do with the dough...
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/12/26/t...
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The returns of the 2025 season
What to do with the returns cash Okay. Let's all admit it. Come on. Say it out loud and get it over with. Here... The Legal Genealogist will go first: Not everything we got for a holiday gift was a hi...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/12/26/the-2025-returns/
3 months ago
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Not all veterans are honored equally. Let's take time today to honor those most often overlooked.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/11/11/v...
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Veteran’s Day 2025
Honoring the forgotten veteran So many of The Legal Genealogist's family members are being honored today in the United States. Today. November 11. Veterans Day. First proclaimed in November 1919 by President Wilson,[1. “Veterans Day,” WWPL Blog, posted 22 March 2019, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum (https://www.woodrowwilson.org/blog/ : accessed 11 Nov 2025).] Armistice Day [...]
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/11/11/veterans-day-2025/
4 months ago
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I'm really excited about this new two-part workshop I'm doing with Family History Academy! Coroner's records are so rich in information -- and, frankly, so fascinating for research in the US, UK, Australia, NZ, Canada, even Ireland. C'mon out and join us, Wednesdays (7 pm US ET), starting Oct 8!
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Understanding Coroner's Historical Records
Course participants will gain practical experience working with actual coronial records from different periods and places, building skills in interpreting case details, witness statements, and inquest...
https://www.familyhistoryacademy.com.au/coroners-historical-records/
6 months ago
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It is, once again, September 11. And, once again, it is time to stop, to reflect, to remember...
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/09/11/y...
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Year 24… never forget…
24 years later... It was 24 years ago today. A stunningly beautiful day, one of those early fall days in the northeast that fills your heart with joy as you inhale the crisp morning air under deep blu...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/09/11/year-24-never-forget/
6 months ago
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When in the course of human events it becomes necessary...
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/07/04/j...
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July 4, 2025
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America, WHEN in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands w...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/07/04/july-4-2025/
9 months ago
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A "new" federal holiday -- for an event 160 years in the past. And definitely worth celebrating!
#Juneteenth
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/06/19/j...
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Juneteenth 2025
A cause for celebration It's only been a federal holiday for four years. But it isn't new... not at all. It all started back 160 years ago today, on the 19th of June 1865. Juneteenth. That's the day o...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/06/19/juneteenth-2025/
9 months ago
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t's the start of the season for summer camp for genealogists -- and The Legal Genealogist hopes to see you there!
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/06/02/c...
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Coming up: June-July 2025
Upcoming presentations It's June already! That means we're here at the start of the summer institute season. GRIP’s virtual session, then MAAGI’s hybrid courses, then GRIP’s in-person session, then… N...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/06/02/coming-up-jun-jul-2025/
10 months ago
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Remembering Philip... and those who knew him. Memorial Day 2025.
#Genealogy
#familyhistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/05/26/m...
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Memorial Day 2025
Once again remembering the fallen and those who remembered them It is Memorial Day here in the United States–the official holiday and the end of the three-day weekend during which we honor those who g...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/05/26/memorial-day-2025/
10 months ago
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Okay, we genealogists HAVE to come off the sidelines. Enough is enough is enough already yet -- hands off the libraries, archives and museums!
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/05/09/e...
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Enough already yet!
Hands off the libraries, archives and museums! The words were written by a Lutheran pastor years before The Legal Genealogist was even born: First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out ...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/05/09/enough-already-yet-2/
10 months ago
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Conferences, webinars, and institutes, oh my... The Legal Genealogist has a busy upcoming schedule...
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/05/01/c...
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Coming up: May-June 2025
Upcoming presentations The Legal Genealogist has been slacking. Well, if you consider traveling overseas and prepping roughly a kazillion lecture handouts slacking at least... In any event, it's the f...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/05/01/coming-up-may-jun-2025/
11 months ago
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The regime change has hit hard in the genealogical community. Bad enough when politics caused the firing of the National Archivist. But slashing the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) funding???? So much for commitment to veterans and their families...
about 1 year ago
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Surprised and pleased to have viewers give this the highest ranking for a February webinar! Free online through March 5.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
familytreewebinars.com/webinar/shoo...
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Shootout at the Rhododendron Lodge: Reconstructing Life-Changing Events - Legacy Family Tree Webinars
A 1929 shootout left the Bath County, Virginia, sheriff dead. Learn to follow the trail through all the records to reconstruct a life-changing event, and...
https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/shootout-at-the-rhododendron-lodge-reconstructing-life-changing-events/
about 1 year ago
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From RootsTech to Connections to Lighting Up Genealogy, March and April are packed with family history happenings!
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/03/01/c...
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Coming up: March-April 2025
Upcoming presentations Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit. Well, that's what The Legal Genealogist is told we need to say on the first day of the month, right? And here it is, the first of March already. Which me...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/03/01/coming-up-mar-apr-2025/
about 1 year ago
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A memory from SEVENTY years ago... and a birthday to remember.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/02/28/a...
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About this getting older bit…
Seventy years ago today The Legal Genealogist is simply astonished by this photograph. Oh, it's a truly sweet image, no doubt about that. I mean, what's not to like about an incredibly smug older sist...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/02/28/about-this-getting-older-bit/
about 1 year ago
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Mark your calendar! Registration opens Saturday for IGHR 2025 courses.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/02/26/i...
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IGHR 2025 registration Saturday!
You snooze, you lose Three days to get ready. Three days until Saturday rolls around. Which is The Day not to sleep in if you’re hoping to get in on an unparalleled opportunity for genealogical educat...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/02/26/ighr-2025-saturday/
about 1 year ago
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Presidential libraries are being impacted by the "slash and burn" tactics of the Musk team. The Kennedy Library yesterday had to close, then reopen, then who knows what will happen because of staff cuts.
about 1 year ago
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The Archivist of the United States has been fired in the purge.
about 1 year ago
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Glad to have been able to write this blog post for Black History Month, and in thanks for all that HeinOnline does to support genealogical education (they're always helpful in our law-related classes!!).
home.heinonline.org/blog/2025/02...
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Genealogy's Hidden Stories: How Legal Battles Revealed Family Histories - HeinOnline Blog
This post features a guest author, Judy G. Russell, The Legal Genealogist®. A genealogist with a law degree, Judy explores the intersection of law and family history. Her insights reveal how legal rec...
https://home.heinonline.org/blog/2025/02/genealogys-hidden-stories-how-legal-battles-revealed-family-histories/
about 1 year ago
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GRIP registration opens today!! Great courses, including an intro law course Rick Sayre and I are co-coordinating (teaser: field trip to the law library!!) in the July week.
www.legalgenealogist.com/.../03/get-a...
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Get a GRIP for 2025
Registration opens Tuesday, February 4 An awful lot of folks in the genealogical community had long sad faces last week. Watching online all week along as people who shared their interests in learning...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/.../03/get-a-grip-for-2025/
about 1 year ago
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reposted by
Judy G. Russell
Kentucky Genealogical Society
about 1 year ago
Breaking News: Thanks to the KDLA, Indexed Kentucky Chancery Case Files (1799-1850) are now digitized online! These General Court records, available on the Kentucky State Digital Archives, cover early land disputes and more.
#genealogy
kdla.access.preservica.com/portal/colle...
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Portal App
https://kdla.access.preservica.com/portal/collection/sdb:SO|269bfdfd-f4ce-48b0-ae0f-03d1bf565a76?fbclid=IwY2xjawIPAqVleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQCwFdmZd3hNtiNFsScHzNvYzOpLDRokHq7jmgUIIczOowrvktejkw2N_Q_aem_atTSiJZzRQoNsKk_YI0kPQ
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It is clear that data critical to genealogy (and other disciplines) is being systematically stripped from federal websites. Census Bureau data IS being removed, and census data geeks at IPUMS verify and are taking whatever steps they can to preserve the data for the future. Scary times we live in.
about 1 year ago
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Records access in New York is under threat!! Speak out NOW to keep access to vital records for genealogists!
#Genealogy
@FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/28/c...
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Call to action: New York!
Speak out on records access It's starting again. Every so often, records access -- particularly access to vital records -- goes on the chopping block. And access to these critical records for family h...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/28/call-to-action-ny/
about 1 year ago
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@mariannedgarbudde.bsky.social
Thank you have having the courage to speak truth to power.
about 1 year ago
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I'm thinking of vacation spots for 2026. Either a beach vacation to the Gulf of MEXICO, or maybe a mountain trip. I've always wanted to see DENALI.
about 1 year ago
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@vincentcarter03.bsky.social
about 1 year ago
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As we honor the dreamer, we pledge to continue to work towards the dream.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/20/h...
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Honoring the dreamer
Continuing the dream Today, in the United States, it is a federal holiday to commemorate the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today we remember the dreamer. And we continue to work towards...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/20/honoring-the-dreamer/
about 1 year ago
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One last chance to beat the ticking clock and join us for law or African American classes at winter camp for genealogists!
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/15/t...
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That ticking clock…
One last chance for SLIG 2025 classes The clock is ticking fast for one last chance to take advantage of one of the best educational opportunities genealogy has to offer. It's what The Legal Genealogi...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/15/that-ticking-clock/
about 1 year ago
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It's a good day when The Legal Genealogist finds a new collection of public domain images...
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/09/n...
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New public domain images!
The Public Domain Image Archive launches It's always a good day when The Legal Genealogist comes across a new source of public domain images. These are, after all, by definition, images that are free ...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/09/new-public-domain-images/
about 1 year ago
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So many important anniversaries -- the milestones in a family's history.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/06/m...
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Milestones 2025
Looking back to 2024, forward to 2025 There's no doubt about it. The very best part of genealogy is the stories. Stories in The Legal Genealogist’s family take us back a long way in America on the mat...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/06/milestones-2025/
about 1 year ago
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And the year gets underway for The Legal Genealogist: coming up in the next 60 days.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/04/c...
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Coming up: January-February 2025
Upcoming presentations And we're off! Yes, off to a fast start to this new year here at The Legal Genealogist -- ramping up for 2025. As always, there's fun stuff coming up on the schedule, and you're...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/04/coming-up-jan-feb-2025/
about 1 year ago
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Repeating for the record in 2025, the fine print for The Legal Genealogist.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/03/r...
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Rules of my road: 2025
Not legal advice! So many reader questions come in that are beyond what The Legal Genealogist can answer in this blog, because they're asking for legal advice. Um... that's not what this blog is all a...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/03/rules-of-my-road-2025/
about 1 year ago
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It's a whole new year for copyright in the United States!
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/02/w...
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Welcome to 1929!
The copyright clock keeps ticking This is the second day of January and, for many Americans, the first work day of 2025. For The Legal Genealogist, it's the second day of 1929. No, that's not a typo. ...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/02/welcome-to-1929/
about 1 year ago
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And The Legal Genealogist is off, into a 14th year of blogging.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/01/h...
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Happy New Year 2025
Thirteen years and counting… Thirteen years ago today, on the first of January 2012, the very first post appeared here at The Legal Genealogist. It explained that: My purpose in writing The Legal Gene...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2025/01/01/happy-new-year-2025/
about 1 year ago
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My 2024 resolution was to FINALLY take that genealogy trip to Germany. Done! And for 2025...
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/31/r...
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Resolved and resolved 2024!
A win in 2024, and on to 2025 It was just a year ago when The Legal Genealogist resolved to take that trip. To go to Germany in 2024 and walk in the footsteps of my German ancestors. It's a trip that ...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/31/resolved-and-resolved-24/
about 1 year ago
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To those who were friends, readers, hosts -- and even co-conspirators! -- in 2024, a great big THANK YOU!!
www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/29/2...
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The Official TLG 2024 Thank You List
To the hosts and more of 2024 Wait just a minute here. Hold on. It isn’t really already…? How can it be…? Seriously…? Can it really be the last weekend of 2024? Yep. Here we are again, coming up fast ...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/29/2024-thank-you-list/
about 1 year ago
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For genealogists wondering just what to do about those end of the season returns, a proposal...
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/27/t...
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The returns of the 2024 season
What to do with the returns cash Okay. Let's all admit it. Come on. Say it out loud and get it over with. Here... The Legal Genealogist will go first: Not everything we got for a holiday gift was a hi...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/27/the-returns-of-the-2024-season/
about 1 year ago
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The Legal Genealogist wishes you the merriest of Christmases and happiest of Holidays! Terms and conditions, of course, may apply.
#Genealogy
#NotExactlyGenealogy
www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/25/h...
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The Legal Genealogist’s Christmas & Holiday Wish 2024
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! From The Legal Genealogist to all those who have so enriched my life in 2024... I wish you the merriest of Christmases and happiest of Holidays! DisclaimerTerms and co...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/25/holiday-wish-2024/
about 1 year ago
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You know you're a genealogist when ... your idea of fun is researching Holidays and Christmases...
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/23/a...
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About those Holidays and Christmases…
Getting into the spirit Where does a genealogist look for the holiday spirit -- the Christmas spirit -- in these last frantic days before we all rush off to try to make more family memories? How about...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/23/about-those-holidays-2024
about 1 year ago
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In the past, 39 men and women have been honored by election to the National Genealogical Society Hall of Fame. It's time to choose number 40. Nominations due December 15.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/06/c...
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Choosing number 40
Nominations due for National Genealogy Hall of Fame Thirty nine times, the genealogical community has honored one of our best, one that we’ve lost. Thirty nine times, the focus has been on someone who...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/06/choosing-number-40/
over 1 year ago
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The 2024 sales on new subscriptions at Legacy Family Tree Webinars ends tomorrow, 5 December, at midnight Mountain time. Don't miss it!
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/05/b...
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The best deal in genealogy
Legacy Family Tree Webinars sale ends tomorrow It's one of the best deals in genealogy. A total of 2,312 webinars (as of this morning). From 449 speakers. With handouts covering 9,040 pages. Including...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/05/best-deal-2024/
over 1 year ago
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Coming up for The Legal Genealogist in December 2024 and January 2025!
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/04/c...
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Coming up: December 2024-January 2025
Upcoming presentations It's beginning to look a lot like ... the end of the year. Yep, things are winding down a bit for 2024 here at The Legal Genealogist -- and ramping up for 2025. So here's a look...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/12/04/coming-up-dec-24-jan-25/
over 1 year ago
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He may have been born as Benjamin Franklin Ernest Schreiner. But he died and was buried as Ernst. RIP, little cousin.
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/11/30/t...
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They called him Ernst
The end of the story His full name was Benjamin Franklin Ernest Schreiner, that little boy born in 1895. The first and only child of German immigrants, he was born on the fourth of July in Chicago, Il...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/11/30/they-called-him-ernst/
over 1 year ago
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Some family stories need to be retold every so often. This is one of them. Because I may not live to tell it again...
#Genealogy
#FamilyHistory
www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/11/28/r...
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Reprise: Of that Thanksgiving past
Pass the gravy, please… Sometime around 5 o’clock this afternoon, in a dining room in northern Virginia, members of The Legal Genealogist‘s family will sit down for what promises to be a fabulous Than...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/11/28/reprise-of-that-thanksgiving-past/
over 1 year ago
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With new terms of use going into effect at GEDmatch, the DNA tools site remains a place where you pays your money... and you takes your chances.
#Genealogy
#DNA
Link to post:
www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/11/22/o...
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Of money and chances
New terms of use at GEDmatch In the wake of two class-action lawsuits alleging violations of user privacy, the DNA website GEDmatch has announced changes to its terms of use, effective today, that wor...
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/11/22/of-money-and-chances/
over 1 year ago
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