Be Sure to Visit my new 1900 Galveston Storm Website at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootseb.com/~barnette 

GENEALOGY CHAT ON INTERNET

  HoustonChronicle.com, the Chronicle's online website and TalkCity.com , a national chat hosting website, will sponsor a genealogy chat from 8 PM to 9 PM on both Monday January 10 and Monday January 24. Mic Barnette, author of this column, will be the host.

 To join the Genealogy Chat go to http://www.chron.com/chat  or http://www.talkcity.com A greeting on the website will prompt chatters to sign-in as a member or as a guest and will give further instructions on how to join in the fun. Both members and guests are able to see all the action  and ask questions. Those that sign in as members on the Chronicle's website will receive the Chronicle's Weekly Online E-Newsletter with schedules of other chats and activities.

 Chatters who use AOL as their only means of access to the Internet will need to have either  a) a full version of Netscape or Microsoft Explorer 3.0 or higher installed separate from the "mini-browser"  that comes with AOL, or b) upgrade to AOL 4.0 which does allow the AOL browser to reach Talk City.

 GENEALOGICAL

 CLASSES

 The New Year-New Century is a great time to learn how to begin or renew that search for elusive ancestors. While genealogy is not difficult, it is complex.  A genealogical class is an excellent way to find out where and how to conduct research. Classes will be offered at several locations in Houston beginning this month.

 Offered by Leisure Learning, Mic Barnette will teach an introductory course in family history. Roots of Genealogy-How To Research Your Family Tree will be held from 7pm to 10pm, Tuesday January 11 at Leisure Learning's 2990 Richmond Ave campus. The following week the class will tour Clayton Genealogical Library and conduct on site research. For more information and to register, contact Leisure Learning at 713-529-4414.

 Mic Barnette will offer a course on conducting genealogical research on the Internet. Surfing The Internet-For Genealogy will look at some of the many fantastic websites on the Internet where genealogical information can be found. The class will be held from 1 pm to 4pm on Wednesday January 19 in the computer lab at the Houston Community College's campus at 1681 Cartwright in Missouri City. For more information and to register, contact HCC at 281-835-5539.

 Houston author, Emily Croom, will offer a two part twelve week course, Finding Your Roots-Methods and Sources, Part I and Part II. Classes will be held on Tuesdays from 7 pm to 9 pm at Houston Community College's Bellaire High School campus, 5100 Maple at Rice. Part I of the class will be held from January 25 through February 29. Part II will be held from March 21 through April 25. Pre-registration prior to January 17 is required. For more  information, contact HCC at 713-664-6763.

 Trevia Wooster Beverly will offer a six week genealogy class, A Family Affair, at the First Baptist Church, 7401 Katy Freeway. Classes will be held on Mondays from 7 PM to 9 PM commencing February 7. Due to limited space, pre-registration is required. For more information and to register, contact Beverly at 713-864-6862.

 Margaret J. Harris, Manager of Clayton Library, will teach a six week genealogical course, Getting Acquainted With Your Ancestors,  through Rice University's Continuing Education Department. Classes be held each Thursday from 7 PM to 9 PM from February 17 through March 23. For more information and to register contact Rice University at 713-527-4803.

GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY IN FORT BEND COUNTY

 Readers who live in or around Fort Bend County or who have an interest in Fort Bend County will be happy to know the Fort Bend County Genealogical Society meets the third Saturday of each month except July and August. Meetings are held at the George Memorial Library, 1001 Golfview in Richmond. For more information about the society, contact M. Dixon at 281-342-2660.

NEWS FROM THE BOOK SHELF

 Published by Millennia Software, Legacy Family Tree is a genealogical software package that offers a lot of bells and whistles. The program comes on a CD-Rom complete with a printed manual. It requires a 486 or faster IBM compatible computer using Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 and a VGA or higher monitor. It requires a minimum of 8 MB memory with 16MB recommended and 20 MB free hard disk space.

 Legacy Family Tree is available for $49.95, plus shipping, from F & W Publishers, 1507 Dana Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45207.

 The program allows one to see the imput data from seven different family and pedigree views. Through the different views one may compare the data on individuals from different perspectives, such as, an individual, as a part of a family and as a part of a pedigree or lineage in a family.

 Legacy offers a multitude of reports, charts, lists and forms that make organizing one's genealogy simple and straight forward. Individuals and families may be presented in an attractive manner using family group sheets, pedigree charts, descendant and ancestor charts, timelines and lineage reports. These reports, charts, timelines, etc  may be combined in any way desired to create a long report or book which may also include source citations.

 For conducting research, Legacy contains printable blank census forms, questionnaires, surname summaries and research logs. The census forms include each of the United States censuses 1790-1920 and Canadian censuses 1851 and 1901.

 The Picture Gallery lets one link an unlimited number of images and sounds to information on family members. Pictures can be zoomed, lightened, darkened, sharpened and contrasted to improve appearance. All common formats are supported and pictures can also be included in many reports.