Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc. - Collin County, Texas
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All Day Virtual Seminar - August 16, 2025

Register on the Events Page
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Volunteer Opportunities - We Need Your Help!

Genealogy Friends is an all-volunteer organization that depends on our members' help to keep the society running. We need to fill these positions:

Blog - Responsible for posting to the Genealogy Friends News on Blogger including the calendar, summary of Roundtable and DNA Group meeting content, current events in Genealogy, and other items of interest. Training materials and help with content are available. Time required 1-2 hours a week. 

Photographer - Take pictures at in person Gen Friends events and upload them to Google Drive to be posted on the website.  

Membership 

Membership runs from October 1st to September 30th.
​We are now set up so you can pay for membership via PayPal or with a credit card.

Info on our Membership page. 

Membership Special - if you join after April 1st for $45 your membership will run through September 30, 2026. 
If membership isn't for you but you enjoy our webinars, please consider donating to Genealogy Friends. 
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Lunch at Chocolate Angel - June 17, 2025

Join Genealogy Friends Members and Enthusiasts for lunch at the Chocolate Angel in the High Street Antique Mall, 800 Central Expressway, Plano, TX at 11:30 on June 17, 2025. 
RSVP to [email protected]. 
$20 per person - Limited Menu - does not include drinks & desert. 

Upcoming Saturday Seminars - Hybrid

If you aren't on our email list and would like the zoom link, click on the button to send an email to request the zoom link for the meeting. 
Request Zoom Link
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July 19, 2025 - "Navigating the Historical & Genealogical Treasures Within Repositories, Libraries & More" by Katherine R. Willson -  - Unlock practical techniques to uncover valuable repositories in ancestral regions, master the use of repository finding aids and subject headings, and effortlessly navigate select websites and digital collections to take your genealogical research to the next level.

Speaker: 
Katherine R. Willson of Dexter, Michigan is an engaging & dynamic genealogy lecturer at local, regional, and national conferences; an educator teaching beginning, intermediate, and advanced genealogy classes in Michigan since 2001; the author of The Genealogist’s Guide to Grand Rapids, Michigan (published in 2018 by The In-Depth Genealogist), and a professional researcher for private clients. Her research specialties include solving difficult genealogical problems in the Great Lakes region, as well as tracing westward migration from the Midwest.Her genealogy interests began as an 8-year-old Junior Girl Scout working towards the now-retired “My Heritage” badge, and her passion was fueled when, after college, both her mother’s and father’s relatives gave her binders containing generations’ worth of family information. (Katherine is a 7th generation Michigander with pre-statehood ancestors arriving from New York in the early 1830s, with the Sample/Moore line settling in Oakland County and the Havens/Arnold line settling in Lenawee County.)
Her success in using Facebook to break down genealogical brick walls both personally and in her classroom inspired her to catalog 16,700+ Facebook genealogy links (updated January 2021).  Additionally, she has compiled 190+ instructional genealogical channels on YouTube (updated February 2022), and 76 genealogy-related podcasts (updated February 2022).
Her passion for genealogy combined with practical and creative strategies keeps Katherine’s audience fully engaged and actively participating in her energetic and entertaining presentations.  Participants leave with the tools necessary to do their own research, as well as the inspiration to do it!


DNA Special Interest Group -  Hybrid - July 08, 2025

Check out the links on the DNA Special Interest Group page from prior discussions. 
The DNA Special Interest Group meets on the second Tuesday of every month at Haggard Library, 2501 Coit Rd, Plano, TX from 7-8:30 pm. Join us in person or via Zoom. Email [email protected] to join the email distribution list. 

​Our goal is to increase our knowledge related to using DNA results to further our genealogy research. This is a place to share ideas, ask questions, and learn about DNA. The group is open to all levels from beginner to advanced. 

July Topic: What's New in DNA
 


Genealogy Round Table - Zoom - August 7, 2025 

August Topic - Artificial Intelligence - This meeting does not require registration. 

​Join us via Zoom — We are a group of genealogy enthusiasts who get together to share information and help each other.

Some of these meetings require registration. The Zoom registration link will be sent out by email the week before the meeting. An email will be sent with the Zoom link and a separate email with the materials for the discussion. 
Email [email protected] to join the email distribution list. 

Research At The Library - August 9, 2025

Join Genealogy Friends experienced genealogists at W.O. Haggard Library from 10:30 to 1 pm on Saturday, May 1, 2025. 
Program at 11:00 
- To Be Announced


​Experienced genealogists will be available to help:
You get started researching your family tree
Answer questions about a research problem

The library is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library with access to records you can't see at home. 

The library offers technology to scan books, including large format and convert film to digital. 

Or bring your favorite project and work on it in the company of other researchers. 
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GenFriends Blog​

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Our newsletter is being replaced by a blog. Here is a link ​https://genfriends.blogspot.com/
An email will be sent out each month once the articles are posted. 
Click the Follow button on the main page of the blog to see updates in your reading list. 
The schedule of events (GenFriends and other groups) is on the Events page.  
The newsletter archive will still be available for past newsletters. 

Plano Old City Cemetery Association

NOTE - the association has a new address and form, so the link to the old form is removed until it can be updated.

​The Plano Old City Cemetery Association (POCCA) is a non-profit, non-perpetual care association founded by descendants of those buried within its boundaries and other interested parties.  Its mission is to preserve, restore and protect the property, gravesites, monuments and other appurtenances within the Plano Old City Cemetery located at 12th and H Streets in Plano, Texas.  Any person who supports the mission of the Association is eligible for membership.  Membership is by application & payment of dues, download the membership form here.  

Ancestry.com Membership Discount

If you are an AARP member, you can save 30% off a World Explorer membership to Ancestry.com for one year.  More information on Ancestry.com.
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