In this post, I am talking about the MyHeritage webinar & what I discovered. Family History Month challenge number 8 is to “Attend one of the online events in the NFHM web calendar.” I had elected to listen to the Golden Genealogy Rules: Tips to uncover your family heritage with Shauna Hicks. I thought this was a very good option for me as I have mostly been finding my own way, except for the Rootstech sessions I attended earlier in the year. I still have loads to learn.
The First Reason Why the MyHeritage Webinar was Really Great!
I was all sorted and had all the right apps, links, headsets and whatever you need on an iPad for the Webinar. I even logged in really early as I have been on webinars that have a limited number of spaces so you can miss out. Then a very good friend arrived so I welcomed her and changed my plans.
So this is what is great about webinars. Really great!! Most webinars are then posted online after the event so you can view it for the first time or do an even repeat viewing – like a refresher course – in case you missed something.
This is what I did.
Here’s a link to the recorded Golden Genealogy Rules: Tips to uncover your family heritage webinar with Shauna Hicks, so you can view it to help jump start your family history.
What did I Discover?
I am assuming if you are interested you will watch the webinar or perhaps you already know the Golden Genealogy Rules so I am not repeating the Golden rules here. These are some of the other thoughts, things I was reminded of and other comments I took away from the webinar to help me progress and protect my genealogical research.
There is a lot for me to learn about genealogical research!!!
Old school methods still work even if we live and breathe online most of the time. For example, clues can be found by reading certificates, not all material is indexed and sometimes a visit to the library is helpful.
Understand the capabilities of the database you are using. For example knowing what Soundex means, how wild cards work, etc.
The need for a good process for backups.
I repeat: The need for a good process for backups.
Networking by joining groups and sharing research will someday reap benefits.
There are loads of places to research online I never even knew about or ones I had forgotten existed. For example, Coraweb and Pandora. Update: the Scottish Archives Network has been decommissioned and the following details are from the website in April 2025.
The SCAN website will have had its final web archive completed, and all the content, apart from access to the Highlands and Islands Emigration records, will be available via the National Records of Scotland Web archive.
The Highland and Island Emigration records database (HD4/5) is already available to search for free on the Scotland’s People website (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/search-records/poor_relief/hie). Researchers just need to register for a free account in order to search it.
I was also reminded from the MyHeritage Webinar that just because it is on the Internet or someone said it is so, does not necessarily mean it is true. This leads to a “golden” genealogy quote from Shauna Hicks.
Finally this webinar, Golden Genealogy Rules: Tips to uncover your family heritage with Shauna Hicks is ideal for beginners and anyone wanting a refresher to remind them of the basic rules.
You are welcome to check out my other posts on the Family History Month Challenges.
Leave a comment: Any lessons you got from the webinar? What are your favourite original sources to verify your genealogical research?