The Van Zandt County Genealogical Society held its regular monthly meeting Aug. 27 at the main county library in Canton. President Carrie Woolverton reported that the Society is making progress on several projects to celebrate the county’s original settlers, including plans for a celebration next March for the 175th anniversary of the creation of Van Zandt County.

In a brief ceremony, Genealogical Society member Linda Dennis received two First Families of Van Zandt County certificates and one Hundred Year certificate, showing her family’s deep roots in the county.

The First Families certificate goes to a person (who doesn’t have to be a member of the Society) who can show their ancestor(s) lived in Van Zandt County in 1860 or earlier. The 100 Year certificate is given to a person who can show their ancestor( s) lived in the county 100 years ago or earlier.

President Woolverton complimented Ms. Dennis on her hard work and extensive research on her family, saying it showed her commitment to her family and history.

The program for the meeting was “Who Knew Family History and Genealogy was so Much Fun... Look, I’m Related to Elvis!” given by Donna Toups, genealogist and volunteer at the Wills Point Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family History Center.

Toups gave a rollicking tour through the Family Search online genealogy program. Family Search is provided for free online by the LDS church, unlike many other online genealogy programs that require a subscription fee every month.

Toups amazed the group with the possibilities of family history available through Family Search. Most interesting were the activities researchers can do to broaden their appreciation of their ancestors. Researchers who have typed in a bit of their family tree into Family Search can then find out what famous people they are related to—Elvis Presley perhaps, or Lady Diana or George Washington.

The program gives interesting maps and diagrams of a person’s family’s migration all over the world, lets users compare their own photo with photos of their old family members for resemblances, and otherwise makes research more fun.

For younger people, the program has video games based on genealogy, and family games like a Wheel Of Fortune lookalike based on one’s ancestors. Toups showed the crowd, who had nearly all brought smartphones and were logged into Family Search, how to use the program to determine if they were related to anyone else in the room; nearly everyone found cousins sitting nearby.

Toups taught the group a lot about the expanding possibilities— and entertainment—of online research. She stressed that Family Search makes genealogy less solitary investigation and more family fun.