In its January/February issue, Family Tree Magazine marks its 20th anniversary with an article by its editors called “The Roaring Twenties.”
The article includes a timeline that covers the past two decades. Some of the highlights include the availability of the first DNA testing kits, the expansion of Ancestry.com as a major genealogy site, the beginning of television shows featuring genealogy, the founding of GEDmatch in 2010 and RootsTech in 2011, and the 2012 premiere of “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr.” That year also saw the online release of the 1940 census. “Genealogy Roadshow” premiered in 2013. FamilySearch discontinued loaning microfilm in 2017, all to be digitized by late 2020.
In Georgia, the past 20 years saw the Georgia Archives (2003) and the National Archives at Atlanta move to Morrow, sharing a site on Jonesboro Road near Clayton State University. We also had the threatened closing of the Georgia Archives over funding issues in 2012-2013, but luckily it never closed and was administratively transferred to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. It is open to the public for research Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. The Georgia Archives created the Virtual Vault, where a large number of Georgia records are digitized and free to access, and the archives also celebrated its 100th anniversary. The past decades saw the creation and expansion of the Digital Library of Georgia at UGA, where a great number of Georgia books, newspapers and other resources are free online.
IGHR Registration begins Feb. 1
The Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research will be held July 26-31 in Athens, on the University of Georgia campus. It’s sponsored by the Georgia Genealogical Society, and registration begins February 1. To see the 13 week-long courses offered, and to register, go to gagensociety.org and then IGHR 2020. This is one of the most important genealogical educational forums, so sign up early to get the course you want.
House History Workshop
The DeKalb History Center is offering a series of research classes beginning on January 25 at 10 a. m. This columnist will speak on “Researching Your Historic House/Property in the Metro Atlanta Area.” Classes are $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers. Contact DHC at 404-373-1088 ext. 20, or check dekalbhistory.org for reservations. The class limit is 30.
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