Story County Genealogical Society

01/11/2026

A complete 50-page beginner’s guide to using Google NotebookLM for genealogy research . This in-depth PDF walks you step-by-step through setting up Google NotebookLM, creating research notebooks, and uploading genealogical sources such as PDFs, images, notes, and newspaper clippings. It shows yo

01/09/2026

Which RootsTech sessions are you most excited for? Whether you’re attending in Salt Lake City or joining us online, you can customize your schedule to match your interests. We can’t wait to see what you pick!

Register here: https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/registration?cid=SO-00054744

01/09/2026

01/09/2026

Free Iowa Online School Records - Updated

An often neglected source of genealogy information is School Records. They can provide age/birth, parental, and other useful data.

With new additions, there are 83 Free Online School Record Collections.

https://theancestorhunt.com/blog/free-iowa-online-school-records/

01/09/2026

Time to join us for the SCGS January 12th Meeting

Monday, January 12
"Overview of Free Genealogy Websites" (SCGS Meeting)
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
via Zoom Only
Presenters: Jim Anderegg

This presentation will review some websties that provide instruction, how-to information, and searchable databases that are available at no cost to the user.

Send a message to learn more

12/23/2025

Beautiful Swedish Christmas traditions that warm the heart🇸🇪

Glowing candles, handcrafted Dala horses, straw ornaments, and cozy red-and-white details this is Christmas the Swedish way 🇸🇪
Simple, natural, and full of meaning, every decoration tells a story of warmth, family, and light during the darkest winter days

No loud colors. No excess.
Just wood, candles, evergreen branches, and a feeling of pure Nordic coziness (hygge)

This isn’t just decoration it’s a tradition passed down through generations
A reminder that Christmas is about peace, light, and togetherness.

12/23/2025

Check out all 26 days

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
In the run-up to Christmas, we're sharing - 26 festive traditions our ancestors might have known, from A to Z!

Today - Y is for yule log. Every Christmas Eve, the men of the house would drag back the largest log they could find in the woods to burn in the hearth, lighting it, if at all possible, with a piece of last year’s log. The idea was to keep it burning throughout Christmas Day and was probably a remnant from the Viking traditions of old, when a piece of wood was burnt in honour of Yggdrasil, the world tree, as a harbinger of good fortune. Goodness knows what the Norse warriors would think of today’s chocolate equivalent.

📸 Getty

12/23/2025

From 1837 onwards, it's possible to find your English and Welsh ancestors' birth, marriage and death records on the General Register Office website - here's how to use it:

https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/getting-started/finding-birth-marriage-and-death-records

12/23/2025

Simple Steps for Creating a Timeline:

Sometimes your information for an ancestor may seem a bit tangled, with conflicting dates or places, and even doubts about whether you have the right person.

A genealogy timeline in a spreadsheet (https://www.heritagediscovered.com/blog/7-simple-steps-creating-genealogy-timeline-why-need-one") could be just what you need, as it helps you see information for entire family groups at a time, and that makes it easier to piece together research clues.

Learn more about timelines in Goal A2 in the United States page (https://www.thefhguide.com/project-9-united-statesa4.html ).

12/23/2025

12/23/2025

Dedicated to preserving, sharing and educating about Iowa's unique and diverse heritage. Learn about classes, resources, and events to discover your ancestors.

12/11/2025

November Newsletter https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X0cjnRDEuOzg4_JIDV4wePG-TqBnAgHN/view?usp=drivesdk