Tami Joins the DAR!

After a three-month hiatus involving a variety of life’s ups and downs, Elizabeth and Tami are back in the studio! In this episode, they catch up on the past couple of months, including a few unexpected setbacks, some personal updates, and a few bright spots of good news.

The conversation turns to lineage society applications, with a focus on joining the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Why might genealogists want to apply? How do you find a chapter, and what do you need to get started? Tami shares her personal application journey, including what documentation she already had, what still needs to be tracked down, and tips on what kinds of evidence are most useful.

This episode’s “What’s Happening” segment covers several key updates:

Changes to the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) Application Guide and process
News of 23andMe’s change in ownership
How to connect your FamilyTreeDNA account to WikiTree and MyHeritage
Plus, Tami walks us through recent enhancements to MyHeritage’s Live Memory feature.

During Tea Time, Tami spills the tea about a scary use of Artificial Intelligence for building family trees. Elizabeth sweetens things up by spotlighting GEDmatch’s “Honor the Fallen” initiative, which pays tribute to those who served.

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TIMESTAMPS

Opening

03:29 Elizabeth mentions receiving an Award of Merit from the National Genealogical Society
04:00 ConferenceKeeper makes the Family Tree (UK) magazine’s Best 50 Websites list

Tami Joins the DAR (or Starts Working on her Application)

06:22 Tami’s application to the DAR
07:38 Tami’s questions about joining DAR
08:39 Elizabeth answers questions about DAR chapters and meetings
08:55 Elizabeth talks about the new chapter of DAR in Ireland
10:00 Proof requirements for a DAR application
13:23 Choosing a chapter to join
14:18 How DAR membership benefits family history
16:07 Finding a registrar and starting your DAR application
18:00 Applying when a relative has already joined.
18:30 Documents needed for Tami’s DAR application

What’s Happening

31:40 BCG 2025 Application Guide changes
33:18 Final sale of 23andMe to non-profit TTAM
36:29 Connecting FamilyTreeDNA account to WikiTree
37:58 MyHeritage update to Live Memory

Tea Time

41:30 Tami shares a scary misuse of Artificial Intelligence for family trees.
45:30 Elizabeth discusses the GedMatch initiative called “Honor the Fallen,” which attempts to use DNA to help identify remains of missing service members from WWII and the Korean War.