We had our 1st of the month roundtable today. In honor of July 4th we discussed Fold3. We went around the table and looked up an ancestor or two and discussed the features of the Fold3 service. Fold3 is part of the Ancestry.com line of products.

At our last round table we discussed the GRS (Genealogical Research Sysstem) on the public DAR site (DAR.org).

Have you used this resource? If you have any questions about using the site, please let me know.

At our last round table we discussed the GRS (Genealogical Research System) on the public DAR site (DAR.org).

Have you used this resource? If you have any questions about using the site, please let me know.

Today's session included a discussion on places where you might find unusual historical and genealogical material: Thrift stores and eBay were discussed. For eBay, we discussed saved searches and setting up an alert for certain key words, like your county name, a family name, etc. For finding information, set up an alert of Google (alerts.google.com).

My friend was in a thrift store in town an came on a 1918 DAR magazine. Articles were about supporting WWI, caricatures of Bunker Hill, engravings of historic scenes (ringing the Liberty Bell, passage of the Declaration of Independence, Cornwallis at the end of the Revolutionary War, and Flags of the Allies in WWI. What a fascinating find: a glimpse into American lives in 1918.

We discussed a 1842 letter that was up for bid on eBay. I had hoped to acquire this letter as it has to do with a family in the county where I live. But, the opposing bidder had set up an automatic bid increase and I waited a little too long to place my last bid just before bidding closed. Letters are another opportunity to learn about our ancestors.