July 20, 2024: Linda Colston, a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and a long-time family historian, presented an interesting talk on Y-DNA titled, "What's Up With Y-DNA?" In the world of DNA testing, although Y-DNA testing has been available for a long time, significant advances continue to keep us on our toes. In her presentation, Linda walked us through the changes in the types of Y-DNA testing over the years and what the trend is currently. She discussed the importance of haplogroups and how surname projects can aid in our research in discovering our male lines. This was an informative and eye-opening program, and we appreciate Linda's return visit to the SCGS podium.

June 15, 2024: Kassidy Cobb, founder of History for the Ages, presented an excellent program via Zoom on the use of primary and secondary sources in genealogical research. Using detailed graphics, she presented numerous examples of the many types of sources that we should be looking for in our family research and where to look for them. Many of those in attendance spoke favorably of Cobb's program and her enthusiasm. We look forward to welcoming her back in the future.

May 18, 2024: We had a great visit from author and KHS Research Director Stuart Sanders who gave an informative talk about a duel fought on the banks of the Ohio River in northern Kentucky during the early stages of the Civil War. He discussed the lives of the duelists and the rise of the practice of dueling. Closer to home in Scott County, there was a known dueling ground on the Scott-Fayette County line located on the outer edge of what is now the Kentucky Horse Park. According to the Georgetown/Scott County Tourism Commission website, "the final recorded duel at the site would not occur until 1866 between a former Union soldier, Alexander Kimbrough, and a former Confederate soldier, Jo Desha. Desha would walk away unharmed, but Kimbrough left with a pistol ball in his hip."

April 20, 2024: President Paul Gregory kicked off the meeting with an announcement of upcoming meetings. He then introduced out guest speaker, Lukas Murphy. No stranger to Georgetown and Scott County history and genealogy, Murphy presented an interesting session on WikiTree, a website that allows users to research their family trees using reliable sources to document findings. Lukas has been an ardent user of WikiTree, and stressed many of its functions that should appeal to genealogists; WikiTree is free to use, so you can't beat the price; the WikiTree platform insists on source verification; WikiTree stresses the privacy of the data. The WikiTree community boasts a membership of over 1.2 million users. More information is available on the WikiTree website At the conclusion of the meeting, Paul presented the coveted SCGS coffee mug to Lukas.

March 16, 2024: Our March meeting was our annual Genealogy Show-and-Tell event. We had a good turnout which included seven members and three guests. This is usually the most interactive meeting of the year as members share family artifacts and stories about their ancestors, and this year was no exception. We heard a story about a certain scrap of old wallpaper that was found among the papers belonging to an ancestor. Pasted to the back of the wallpaper was a newspaper clipping that mentioned people and events in the Finnel vicinity of northern Scott County. One SCGS member showed us an old silver mail-return key fob that had belonged to his grandfather, and was still in use today, two generations later. A humorous story about Bingo, a stray dog that adopted a family, had everyone's attention. It seems Bingo was turned over to the local Sheriff to find it a home, and before the officer could confirm the placement of the dog with another family, Bingo had returned to its original home where he became a valuable member of the family. We also heard a story about Georgetown's Royal Spring that was the subject of a new book about this local landmark, and a baby's bowl used well over a century ago was circulated for all to see. Names, dates, and locations are not the only things that should interest family historians. The stories about the everyday lives of our ancestors tell a lot more than the vital statistics of the past. The stories add life to our memories.

February 17, 2024: Our February meeting was canceled due to weather concerns.

January 20, 2024: Our January meeting was canceled due to weather concerns.