Watch the next video: Connect to Others at OneGreatFamily

Genealogy is less effective when done in isolation. At OneGreatFamily, you are always working in a collaborative environment. You can easily see, collaborate with and gain the benefit of the work of others. OneGreatFamily’s automated search engine continually looks for additional information and relatives for every one of your ancestors at the same time. We notify you by email when new information is available for your family tree.

This week we are spotlighting the video that shows you how new names will automatically be added to your family tree. When OneGreatFamily finds an exact match between two records, it will automatically merge the records and extend your tree by adding any information that you may be missing one that line.

Click on the link to view the demo that will show you how we connect family trees together at OneGreatFamily:
(http://www.onegreatfamily.com/2005/LearnMore/Default.aspx?demo=2)

We hope that you find the new videos helpful in using OneGreatFamily. Hopefully, you will see the benefit that being a OneGreatFamily member will have on your family tree.

• View the "How Does OneGreatFamily Connect Your Family Tree" video
• Visit OneGreatFamily to see the new site, check out the new demos, and view all the new ancestors added to your family tree.
  
• Subscribe to OneGreatFamily to see how successful OneGreatFamily is when it comes to helping you find new ancestors.

Thanks to all of you who have already submitted an article for review. We need more!

Last week we announced that we are looking for OneGreatFamily members who are interested in writing articles to put in our weekly newsletter. We’ve gotten in a few submissions and are reviewing those for future publication,  but we need more!

We’ve also gotten a lot of questions.  Here are the top two:

Question #1: “Don’t I need to know a lot about using OneGreatFamily to write for you?” 

Answer #1: NO.  Lisa has been writing for us for nearly a year without ever really writing about OneGreatFamily.  This part of the newsletter is oriented towards genealogy in all its forms.  We at OneGreatFamily are very committed to helping our members grow their family tree, and we realize that genealogy extends far beyond our service.  We want articles that will help people deal with challenges that might be holding them back.

Question #2: “I am not a very good writer”.

Answer #2: Yes you are.  What is most important to a good article is content—that is, getting the knowledge you have locked up in your brain out so others can benefit from it.  We will edit the article if you are concerned about grammar, spelling, or sentence flow.

If you are interested in writing an article for the weekly newsletter that will help others find their ancestors, here are the details:

1) If your article is posted in the newsletter, we will pay you $50

2) The article must be at least 300 words

3) Submissions must include your name, phone number, postal mailing address, and an email address.  Entries without these items will not be considered.

3) Any article that is submitted and that we pay for is considered "work for hire" and becomes the property of OneGreatFamily (who retains rights to all media and who can reuse or repurpose the article without further compensation). You grant us permission to use your name with the article.

4) Content of Articles: General genealogy information, information about specific research techniques, or about using OneGreatFamily. Please do not submit articles about other paid genealogy services.

Once you have written an article, submit it to newsletterarticles@onegreatfamily.com for review. Good Luck!

• Email OneGreatFamily an Article for Review
• Visit OneGreatFamily to see the new site, check out the new demos, and view all the new ancestors added to your family tree.
• Subscribe to OneGreatFamily and start doing your genealogy the OneGreatFamily way.
  

Georgia Land Lotteries

Go back in time to 1805. You are living on the frontiers of Georgia. You walk up and put your name in a barrel hoping that it will be drawn - if it is, you are eligible for free land! Free land was a great incentive and a means to get Georgia settled. Until 1805, Georgia had used Headright grants to disperse land, but from 1805 until 1832, Georgia used the land lottery system.

There were drawings in 1805, 1807, 1820, 1821, 1827, and 1832. All the drawings except 1832 gave away Creek Indian land. In 1832, there was a land lottery and a gold lottery (these are usually listed together, but were in fact two separate drawings). These drawings were for Land taken away from the Cherokee Nation. Gold was "discovered" in Georgia (actually the Indians, Spanish, and some Whites had been successfully panning for gold for years), and as soon as this official discovery was made, the Federal Government began steps to removed the Cherokee Indians. The Trail of Tears had begun, but the irony was that by the time the Gold Lottery took place, much of the gold was gone.

Almost three-fourth of what is now Georgia was distributed through the land lottery system. Each drawing had different eligibility requirements and it is important to find out what those requirements were. That will help you to know if your ancestor was eligible and may give you additional information about your ancestor and his/her family. For example, you may find your ancestor was eligible because she was a widow, which could narrow down the death date of her spouse. There is a comprehensive list of the requirements for each drawing at http://www.lineages.com

There are many published lists of the people who won these lotteries.
Usually the county records will have lists of those that were eligible to
participate in the land lottery drawings. If your ancestors lived in
Georgia during the years of the land lotteries, a search through these records would be advisable.

• Login to OneGreatFamily to enjoy this unique genealogy service
• Subscribe to OneGreatFamily to find all your ancestors.
• Visit the OneGreatFamily Learning Center for more helpful genealogy articles by Lisa South
  
  

DeadFred.com - Genealogy Photo Archive

A picture is worth a 1000 words. DeadFred.com is a free searchable database containing thousands of identified and mystery photos for genealogy enthusiasts looking for long-lost family. Anyone who finds a photo of a direct ancestor that is owned by the archive will receive the photo for free.

Want some FREE time?

• Learn more
• Refer a friend