Genealogical Research Institute of Virginia - GRIVA

08/14/2025

Join GRIVA board member Paula Williams for a DNA webinar at Legacy Family Tree Webinars this Friday! It's free to attend live, or you can view the video for free for a week (or anytime if you're a Family Tree Webinars subscriber).

Join us Friday for a DNA webinar!

Paula Williams will present "5 Questions to Answer About Your DNA Matches!"

https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/5-questions-to-answer-about-your-dna-matches/

07/04/2025

We wish everyone a Happy July 4 and share this bit of history!

in 1776, two days after the Continental Congress had voted for independence, it adopted the Declaration of Independence, written primarily by Thomas Jefferson. Learn more about this vital document on our Shaping the Constitution webpage. https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/oc/stc/entries/declaration-of-independence-july-4-1776

Image: 1818 engraving on parchment of the Declaration of Independence by Benjamin Owen Tyler

07/03/2025

If you've not tried MyHeritage's OldNews.com newspaper database, now's a good time - get free access from July 3-July 5!

https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/07/discover-your-familys-past-this-july-4th-with-free-access-to-u-s-newspapers-on-oldnews-com/

This Independence Day, we’re opening up a treasure trove of history. From July 3–5, 2025, enjoy free access to 151 million pages of historical U.S.

04/26/2025

Chancery records can be a goldmine, and the Library of Virginia has been steadily digitizing and making available Virginia's counties' chancery records. They added to the available Grayson County records recently and are now announcing the addition of some from Albemarle County as well.

Newly digitized Albemarle chancery causes (1851-1871) are now available to view and download in the Chancery Records Index! Today’s UncommonWealth post traces a possible link between the Moon family from Albemarle County chancery suits and a family later named by Walter Plecker for attempting to “pass” as white. Could the Moon family from Plecker’s list be descendants of the very people enslaved—and possibly fathered—by William Moon in Albemarle County? Explore the intersections of race, power, and family in our newest post, where the past comes into sharper focus thanks to the preservation and accessibility of historic Virginia court records.

📖 Read the full blog post: https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/blog/2025/04/25/supposed-to-be-his-daughter/
🔗 Explore the Chancery Records Index: https://www.virginiamemory.com/collections/chancery/

04/23/2025

Join the Virginia Genealogical Society at their spring conference this weekend!

🕵️‍♀️📚 Love genealogy but busy this Saturday? No problem!

You won’t have to miss a thing at the VGS Spring 2025 Virtual Conference and Annual Meeting — because recordings of all sessions will be available to registered attendees for 60 days after the videos upload! 🙌

🎥 Watch the talks at your own pace, revisit your favorite sessions, and soak up expert advice on your schedule.

🗓️ Live Event Date: Saturday, April 26, 2025
🖥️ Location: Online
📍 Access: Live AND recorded sessions with registration!

📌 But don’t forget to register! Even if you can’t join live, you must be signed up to get access to the recordings.

👉 Reserve your spot now: https://www.vgs.org/event/vgs-spring-2025-virtual-conference-and-annual-meeting-26-apr-2025/

Don't miss out on this treasure trove of genealogy knowledge — whether you attend live or watch later! 🌳✨

04/23/2025

Did you miss the GRIVA talk with Kate Kelley ("The Photo Angel") tonight? Fear not! The recording is now available at https://youtu.be/NI_mt1eNFIA. Happy viewing and happy photo hunting!

GRIVA was pleased to host Kate Kelley on 22 April 2025. "It all began with a pile of labeled photos of non-relatives that were mixed in with my grandparents’...

03/26/2025

Got questions? We've got some opportunities for you!

Our DNA SIG and German SIG are inviting you to submit questions for the April DNA SIG and the "Your Turn" series for the German SIG in May.

Letting Paula (DNA) and Sylvia (German) take a look at your questions can help both you and others, so send those questions to mail@griva.org! (If Sylvia doesn't get questions, there will be no May German SIG meeting, so don't miss your chance!) The deadline for DNA questions is April 1 and German questions need to be in by April 18.

Also, in June, we'll be having our Gen Chat on June 16 at 1pm, so there's a chance to ask (and answer!) genealogy questions then! No deadline or emails for that one, just come on in and join us!

03/26/2025

Did you miss our talk with A Grave Attraction? Fear not! The recording is now available on our YouTube channel. See

GRIVA was pleased to host Katie DeRaddo on 25 March 2025. Discover the hidden stories buried below headstones and the intersection of grave preservation and ...

03/13/2025

And we're excited that you're excited! Come join us!

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0cvpTRYUiaeMDLRkUwE3hz7Bqwgmiaiepvn9GtQsys4pdVbnmbEYbosAE78F3KfUgl&id=100091662084494&__cft__[0]=AZVDSywiDywwyH9l73rD-GSuFTz6AZnvZZreQcD7edlLLxaCTzhcQR52p-D-M3ML6LULpNxcPgakLqEDbSniuRltJAm4hqjn1mzfq_l0rjONYTKztXsTCsylUPgYV7RXdHnRbKWEzbXFEHNroq_g1UNv6gCIhCKdniYikKfXq3F1Ww&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

I'm excited to be speaking on March 25th for the Genealogical Research Institute of Virginia - GRIVA. I'll be talking about the hidden stories buried below headstones and the intersection of grave preservation and genealogy! Learn how cleaning reveals names and dates, while research uncovers the rich histories behind them, connecting us to the lives of those who came before us.

This talk is 100% virtual and free for anyone to attend! Register today!
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsfu2vrTIoHdSZEtQVttIx8kaTA1GIt8Ix?utm_source=post&utm_medium=agraveattraction&utm_campaign=socialmedia #/registration

02/14/2025

Free access to Newspapers.com this weekend!

Free Access to Newspapers.com this weekend! Feel the love and research your ancesters. Perhaps you’ll find a wedding or engagement announcement? 💕💒📰

Fine print: Access to Publisher Extra papers on Newspapers.com will be free until 17 Feb 2025 at 11:59pm MT. Registration required. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view Publisher Extra papers using a Newspapers.com Publisher Extra subscription.

01/30/2025

New Virginia military collection at Fold3!

Do you have military ancestors from Virginia? If so, check out our new Virginia Department of Military Affairs Records Collection that includes information on Virginia military personnel who served between 1876-1947. Learn more on our blog: https://f3.social/6y7d