Category Archives: Genealogy Conferences

FGS Week was a Success!

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I know this is going to come out a little bit late to my readers… but frankly, I was exhausted after the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) conference that took place in Washington DC. I serve as the VP of Membership for the organization and so that came with some responsibilities. I was in charge of the Society Showcase area. Despite a few minor hiccups in the beginning, we got it all looking good! I worked the FGS booth quite a bit, I also volunteered at booths for the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG). I was able to attend three lectures!

The big news out of this conference was the planned merger between FGS and the National Genealogical Society (NGS). NGS’s general focus is on genealogy education, methodology, their scholarly journal, and other aspects for the individual genealogist. FGS’s focus has been on society management and support. Both have held national conferences and focus on Records Preservation and Access (RPAC). To read the official press release, click here.

Personally, I am excited about the merger. As a board member, I have seen our strengths and weaknesses and believe that we can be supportive to each other rather than separate and competitive entities. I believe cooperation and collaboration is the direction we need to move toward. Helping each other and coming together rather than having a separation in the field. I often found that there were people who were “team FGS” or “team NGS” rather than seeing the two as complementary. So I do think this will be good for the field.

However, I don’t have a crystal ball and don’t really know what the future holds. Time will tell, for sure.

FGS Conference Events, Register by Friday!

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I am so excited to attend the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference in Washington DC, August 21-24. Registration ends this Friday, August 2nd so get registered!

There is still room at the conference hotel (Omni Shoreham) for an incredible $169 (a steal for D.C.) which is good for a few days before and after the conference (see the conference website for complete details). If you want to do some research at the Library of Congress, the Daughters of the American Revolution library, or the National Archives, this is a fantastic opportunity! If you have never been to one of these repositories, there are several guided tours that still have space available, as well as a tour of the National Museum of African American History & Culture. Check this page for more information.

In addition, this conference is different from previous FGS conferences. The society management topics are woven throughout the entire 4-day conference allowing you more choices in each time slot.

The Friday night event sounds fantastic, “Swing Back to the 30s with Your Ancestors” where you can represent one of your 1930s ancestors with live jazz playing in the background! Personally, I am excited for some of the luncheon speakers! There are still a few tickets left for those as well.

I will be speaking on Thursday, once on the society management topic “Create an Attractive Education Plan for Your Society” (T-217), once on research methodology “Unfamiliar Territory: Researching in a New (to you) Geographic Area” (T-232), and I’ll be participating in “Ask FGS! Panel with FGS Leaders” (T-247) with other members of FGS leadership.

This incredible opportunity is coming up quickly and I hope to see you there!

Mid-Summer Catch-Up

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I returned from a fantastic week at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) where I had the pleasure of taking “Advanced DNA” from Blaine Bettinger, Angie Bush, and Karen Stanbury, CG. I learned a lot and I learned I already knew a lot which is almost just as important when you are trying to build your confidence in your DNA analysis skills! GRIP has a fantastic line-up for July as well as their 2020 courses published. It’s one of my favorite institutes!

I have some exciting things planned for the rest of my year that I wanted to share:

Phew! I’m tired just thinking about it. I hope to see you at at least one of these events. Be sure to say hi if you see me about.

It’s National Genealogical Society Conference Week!

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This week I am attending the NGS Conference and am so excited to participate! My schedule is quite full this time! First, I am attending the BCG Education Fund’s “Putting Skills to Work” day to refresh and update my skills.

During the conference I am presenting three lectures:

  • Session W154, Wednesday, 4PM, “Breaking New Ground: Creating a Locality Guide for New Research Areas”
  • Session F328, Friday, 11AM, “How’d You Find That?!? Tips for Locating Obscure or Hidden Records”
  • Session S421, Saturday, 11AM, “Family History Piecework: An Approach to Writing” (BCG Skillbuilding Lecture)

Working at the booths for the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS), the Association of Professional Genealogists, and the Board for Certification of Genealogists is also on my agenda.

Beyond this, I am looking forward to new and exciting “things” in the exhibit hall, learning new techniques at lectures, and catching up with old friends and making new.

FGS Conference Registration is Open

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Another great conference opened registration this week. This time it is the Federation of Genealogical Societies’ annual conference, that will be held in Fort Wayne, Indiana, home of the Allen County Public Library! This conference is taking place August 22-25, 2018. You can read more about it at the conference website. The full program has also been released and can be viewed here.

APG PMC Registration Open

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The Association of Professional Genealogists opened registration for the Professional Management Conference taking place in Kansas City, Missouri from  October 4-6, 2018. You can register and reserve a hotel room by visiting the APG conference website.

APG also announced the dates and locations for the 2019 PMC which will be held in Salt Lake City at the Hotel RL from September 19-21, 2019. This is also APG’s 40th Anniversary and there’s sure to be plenty of celebrating so mark your calendars!

Audio Recordings from NGS 2018

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Audio recordings of many of the NGS lectures are available for sale and download at PlaybackNGS. There were many fantastic sessions, some I made it to, some I missed due to speaking or other obligations, and so I’m compiling my list right now.

7780-banner2If you couldn’t make it to NGS (or even if you did) this is a great way to hear some fantastic lectures.

I do have three lectures available if you are interested:

  • The Third Coast: How the Great Lakes Shaped America (W144)
  • Casting the Net: Denominational, Ethnic, and Specialized Newspapers (S443)
  • Using PERSI Like a Pro (S451)

I thought Grand Rapids, Michigan and this NGS conference was one of the best I’ve been to. The level of education, the exhibit hall, and the city offerings were fantastic.

Next year’s NGS is 8-11 May 2019 in St. Charles, Missouri. And 2020 will be 20-23 May in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mark your calendars!

NGS Conference Live Stream Details Announced

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The National Genealogical Society’s Annual Conference is coming right up! I am honored to be going to present three lectures among a wide variety of very talented speakers. The conference is being held in Grand Rapids, Michigan from 2-5 May 2018. If you are unable to attend in person, NGS just announced their live stream schedule option. You can read the full release with sign-up instructions and fees here.

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National Genealogical Society Conference Banner

The schedule is as follows:

  • Thursday, 3 May 2018: Viewers will be able to stream five lectures from 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m., including:
    • Reasonably Exhaustive Research of African American Ancestors who came out of Slavery—LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG®
    • The Price of Loyalism: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary War—Terry Koch-Bostic
    • The Y-DNA Test Should be Your Favorite—Diahan Southard
    • Your Cousins are Your Secret Weapon—Angie Bush
    • Native American DNA: Separating Fact from Fiction—Blaine Bettinger, PhD, JD
  • Friday, 4 May 2018: Five BCG Skillbuilding lectures will be live streamed from 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m., including:
    • History, Records, and Context: Researching the Locations Your Ancestors Lived—Angela Packer McGhie, CG
    • Samuel Witter vs. Samuel Witter: Separating Same-Name Soldiers, War of 1812—Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGLSM, FASG, FNGS, FUGA
    • Using Indirect and Negative Evidence to Prove Unrecorded Events—Thomas Wright Jones, PhD, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA
    • A Matter of Standards: DNA and the GPS—Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL
    • Deeper Analysis: Techniques for Successful Problem Solving—Elissa Scalise Powell, CG, CGL

Details about the live stream program, plus additional conference recordings, can be found on the PlaybackNGS Website.

If you’d like to attend, but can’t make it in person, this is a wonderful opportunity to attend from home.

More 2017 Plans… and into 2018!

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So a few more things have been finalized that I can now mention publicly.

I have two all-day seminars scheduled this year:

  • 12 August 2017 – Ark-La-Tex, in Shreveport, LA holds an annual conference. This year I am their conference speaker! See this link for details.
  • 7 October 2017 – San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society, I will be the annual seminar speaker for this group as well. You can find out more information about the seminar here.

The BIG NEWS that I want to share is that I will be a co-coordinator in a course at SLIG in 2018!

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I will be teaching a course with Kathryn Lake Hogan, with special appearances by Judy Russell and David Ouimette! The course will cover the Great Lakes region, more than a general survey, and intended to highlight the unique nature of history, records, documents, and methodology surrounding research in the Great Lakes region, both from the U.S. and Canadian sides. Watch for more details on this course coming soon!

TxSGS Annual Conference Presentations

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I can hardly believe that it is almost time for the Texas State Genealogical Society Annual Conference again! It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that I was speaking at last year’s conference, for the first time. Well, this year I will be speaking again! The conference will be held in Dallas at the Crowne Plaza, October 28-30.

Friday, October 28,  I will be presenting two lectures:
Ahead of the Times: Texas Newspaper Research (2-3pm)
Newspapers were daily snapshots of our ancestor’s lives; Texas newspapers are no exception. Examine the broad spectrum and history of Texas newspapers for genealogical research. Methods, techniques, and strategies for obtaining those items of interest will be demonstrated.

From Deeds to Dirt: Analyzing Research with Maps (5-6pm)
This program demonstrates skills needed to move from land descriptions in historical documents to maps depicting those locations in order to analyze and solve research problems.

Saturday, October 29,  I will present:
Who Lives Next Door? Using the FAN Club in your Research (2-3pm)
Untangle individuals of the same name and solve genealogical mysteries using the “FAN Club” principle. Methods to identify FAN Club members and case studies will be demonstrated.

I’m so honored to be speaking at a conference alongside some of my favorite colleagues and friends! Such talented genealogists and speakers attending are Judy Russell, Cyndi Ingle, Deborah Abbott, Lisa Louise Cooke, Rick Fogarty, Sara Gredler, Colleen Greene, Michael Strauss, Billie Fogarty, Kelvin Meyers, Teri Flack, Debbie Parker Wayne, Ari Wilkins, and at least twenty other speakers!

Early Bird registration is open through October 7, 2016. Don’t delay! This is sure to be one of the best state conferences yet.