Springfield, MA USA
dave@oldbones.info

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Family Research - Classes - Workshops - Consultation

What do you do when you find hundreds of living relatives? Part 1

Now I don’t want to be misunderstood. That is, I don’t want you to think my parents and each of their families were a bit dysfunctional. I’m here to confirm that “dysfunctional” is not only an appropriate characterization but also quite accurate. However, I would like you to keep in mind that my sister and…
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The Pioneer Valley History Network – Western Massachusetts

I’m promoting this event here on my blog to announce that there will be many interesting presentations from a wide variety of historians and genealogists from around Western Massachusetts and beyond. One of those presenters will be me! I’ll be highlighting the history of Springfield Massachusetts from its founding as a colonial plantation in 1636 to…
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Mocavo (a great resource) is moving to FindMyPast…soon!

Below is the body of an email I received today regarding my Mocavo account. I also have an account at FindMyPast. That part of the merger will be interesting! And the merger is taking place TODAY, 23 MARCH 2016!! Mocavo is moving to Findmypast We’re contacting you to let you know that the Mocavo website will…
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Quick Lesson 2: Sources vs. Information vs. Evidence vs. Proof

Dave Robison – QuickLesson 2: Sources vs. Information vs. Evidence vs. Proof [1] As with any genealogical research question, establishing the accuracy of an item as simple as a date of birth can prove elusive and, at times, frustrating. In the case of one of my own direct ancestors, the search has taken me to…
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Strawberry DNA

Here’s a neat article I found in my Feedly posts today. Click “Imagination Station” for a simple explanation of the DNA extraction process. They’re using strawberries in the video, but, as you’ll see, you could try it on just about any living matter…including yourself. The problem, of course, is other than having a dish of cloudy…
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Strawberry DNA

UPDATE: We’re conducting a DNA series at Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society, Inc. We’re using Tom MacEntee’s DNA Boot Camp featuring Diane Eberle. A couple of weeks ago in our 6th session, we tried the strawberry DNA extraction test. In plastic storage bags, we mashed 5 or 6 strawberries in each. Separately, we mixed up batches…
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Family Tree Maker and RootsMagic Users — Great News!

Tuesday, 2 February 2016 was a great day for Punxsutawney Phil (no shadow) and users of Family Tree Maker (FTM) and RootsMagic (RM) for building their family trees, collecting and storing photos and documents and adding source citations. With last December’s announcement that Ancestry.com was discontinuing support for their Family Tree Maker product at the end of…
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Black History Month

Here are a couple of links to research opportunities. The first is an article I found in the Huffington Post and the other is an announcement by Fold3, This was my post to the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Societies (WMGS) Google Community: I just read this article at the Huffington Post: http://bit.ly/Black_History_Month_Google_Cultural Great for researchers interested…
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Black History Month

Here are a couple of links to research opportunities. The first is an article I found in the Huffington Post and the other is an announcement by Fold3, This was my post to the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Societies (WMGS) Google Community: I just read this article at the Huffington Post: http://bit.ly/Black_History_Month_Google_Cultural Great for researchers interested…
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Say “Hello” to My Little Friend! Flip-Pal

Here’s  a device that I should have bought years ago. I’ve heard about it from colleagues. I’ve seen it in the exhibit halls at genealogy conferences. I’ve read about it in the ubiquitous advertising at Facebook and other social media. How could it be that helpful. Here’s how: Flip-Pal. It’s compact, fits in your backpack…
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