Why Attend a Genealogy Conference?

What is it about a genealogy conference that generates such excitement? Why do people invest the time and money to attend one? What benefits might a genealogy conference hold for you? These are all great questions. If you haven’t been to a large national conference before, you naturally might wonder what the experience is like.

There are many reasons why I like genealogy conferences, and why I’m particularly excited about the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) 2013 Conference, which is coming up August 21-24 in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I truly expect it to be one of the highlights of the year. Here are some of the reasons people go to family history conferences, and how you might benefit from attending FGS 2013:

The chance to learn more about records, resources, and skills that can help with your family history research: Many of the presentations at a conference show where and how to find the information you seek on your family. Others focus on developing the skills needed to interpret, analyze, and use information successfully. This can help you make new breakthroughs, reach conclusions, and become a better researcher. You can also learn how to share and publish your family history.

The chance to hear some of the biggest and brightest genealogical speakers: Conferences like FGS 2013 feature nationally-recognized authors and speakers, which means you’ll hear dynamic lectures that will educate and entertain you at the same time—often with a good dose of humor.

The chance to see the latest products, books, and technological innovations: The Exhibit Hall at FGS will be packed with exhibitors showcasing their items, including software, maps, reference guides, books on localities and ethnic research, publishing companies, and online database leaders like Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, and FindMyPast.com. You can see demonstrations, talk to representatives, and ask all the questions you like.

The chance to meet and socialize with others who share your interest in family history: A conference is the perfect place to make new friends. It’s as easy as talking to the person sitting next to you, sharing a table at lunch, or striking up a conversation in the hallway. Luncheons and casual evening social events make it even easier to get to know people who share your passion.

The chance to gather ideas to strengthen your local society: A unique feature of FGS is that it offers a full day of programming (on Wednesday, August 21) geared toward genealogical and historical societies. You can get ideas on websites, projects, social media, publishing, funding, and more to take home to your society. Even if you don't belong to a society (and you certainly don't have to to attend FGS), you can pick up tips for some of your own projects.

The chance to research in a world-class library: Ft. Wayne, Indiana is the home of the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library, one of the nation’s top genealogical libraries. Extended hours (until midnight on three nights!) and close proximity to the conference hall means you can hop over and research to your heart’s content. It’s sure to be a happening place.

The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library is a magnet for researchers

The bottom line is that a genealogy conference is fun. Yes, you learn a lot from the presentations, and that’s good. But it’s just the beginning of what you get out of the conference experience. My first FGS Conference was the 2011 event in Springfield, Illinois. I was hesitant to sign up, because I didn't really know anyone. Yet I came home energized and ready to dive into my research, armed with new tools and techniques. And I had made a bunch of new friends, just from saying hi and introducing myself—because it turns out that people who like genealogy, by and large, are really friendly! Even though we live in different states, we’ve kept in touch, and several of us are looking forward to meeting again at the 2013 FGS Conference. All that came from taking a little leap of faith and registering for that first conference.

So will I see you in Ft. Wayne in August?

--Shelley

Related Posts:

Sporting My New FGS Conference Ambassador Badge

OGS 2013 Conference: Day Two

Learning a Lot at FGS 2011

On Mothers

On this Mother’s Day, I count myself incredibly fortunate to have two wonderful women in my life: my Mom, whose love and belief in me has never wavered, and my mother-in-law, who has opened her heart to me as a fourth daughter. I appreciate both of them beyond words. I also cherish the memories of my grandmothers, Nora (Eberhard) Ballenger and Wilma (Steele) Herrel, whose stories, songs, and traditions provided much of the basis for my interest in family history.

And on Mother’s Day especially, I count my blessings for the ones who define my own role as a mother. I have three great kids who constantly amaze, amuse, occupy, challenge, delight, and enrich me. They are the heart and soul of my life. While I don’t talk about them much here on my blog, they’re always on my mind, and I’m so proud of each of them.

Of course, generations of mothers have shared this kind of joy in their children. I think one of the benefits of being a genealogist isn’t just learning to find information, analyze evidence, and draw sound conclusions. It also lies in something less tangible, which is feeling—and valuing—the links that bind one generation to another. From past to present to future. I hope that quality is part of the legacy I’m weaving for my kids—something that helps them know who they are, and where they came from. To me, as a mom and a family historian, that feels like something worthwhile.

Happy Mother’s Day to all!

--Shelley

Ohio Genealogical Society Conference Wrap-Up

The last day of the 2013 Ohio Genealogical Society Conference in Cincinnati was a shorter one for me, as I started late (did I mention I’m not a morning person?) and had to leave early. Still, I managed to get in three great presentations and lunch with a group of fellow bloggers and friends. The sessions I enjoyed on Saturday, April 27 were:

Forensic Genealogy: CSI Meets Roots (S08), by Colleen Fitzpatrick—I’ve seen Colleen speak before, and she never fails to amaze me. Her whole way of looking at things is so eye-opening. She analyzed several photographs for tiny clues which allowed her to identify and date them, showed how she created a database to determine why deaths were occurring in an 1851 community, and then explained a simple and useful model for interpreting DNA results. All in one lecture. As a former rocket scientist, Colleen brings a scientific outlook to her research questions, using the tools of biology, mathematics, and probability in addition to the social sciences tools of geography, history, and culture. It’s a powerful combination, and one I’d like to try to apply with some of my stickier research problems. If this sounds interesting to you, I’d recommend Colleen’s books, Forensic Genealogy and The Dead Horse Investigation: Forensic Photo Analysis for Everyone. If you’re going to be at either the NGS or FGS Conference, look for them at Maia’s Books in the exhibit hall.

A Reasonably Exhaustive 3-D Search: Four Fawkner Wives (S20), by Jay Fonkert—Jay presented a fascinating case study of how he correlated the triple points of time, geography, and associates to track a family back in time from state to state to uncover the four marriages of an ancestor. I really enjoyed seeing his methodology in action. His lecture reminded me that some of the best clues can come from unlikely places, such as a single phrase in the testimony of a witness, and that solving a complex case requires researching multiple generations of a family. Sometimes you have to go forward in order to move back. Jay’s findings on this case were published in an article in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly in September 2011. This lecture complemented the article well, showing the research process behind it—how he approached and answered each successive question along the way to reach his conclusions. I left feeling like I’d heard “the rest of the story”—and it was a great one. I’d like to see more in-depth methodology studies like this at conferences.

Documents to Narrative: Writing to Engage Your Reader (S23), by Warren Bittner—My conference experience ended on a high note with this inspiring presentation on good writing techniques. Warren gave us seven key points to keep in mind when writing a family history story, and walked us through the writing process, from the first sentence through editing and re-writing. He provided plenty of examples to illustrate his points. It’s always good to get an infusion of energy, advice, and practical tips on good writing, especially as it applies to genealogy. Warren’s lecture provided that in abundance.

In case you missed them, I also wrote about my experiences in “OGS 2013 Conference: Day One” and “OGS 2013 Conference: Day Two.” Another highlight of my weekend was receiving an Honorable Mention award for an article I submitted to the annual OGS Writing Contest. The article, “Turning Forests into Farms: The George Clark Family of Licking and Delaware Counties, Ohio,” will be published in the Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly later this year. The contest this year only had a first place winner and honorable mentions (no second or third place), which is different from previous years. I was honored by the recognition and am delighted to know the article will be published.

As I drove away from the conference after bidding friends goodbye, my only regrets were that I couldn’t go to all the sessions I wanted to, and that I didn’t spend more time in the exhibit hall. Oh, and that I didn't take more pictures (but the flowering trees on the way home were gorgeous!). Time and scheduling conflicts are the biggest challenges at any good conference, and this one was no exception. For example, during the time period I went to Jay Fonkert’s presentation, I could just have easily attended sessions presented by Tom Jones, George Morgan, Lisa Alzo, or Thomas MacEntee. And I’m sorry I had to make the choice, because I would have loved to hear them all. That’s why I’m glad Jamb, Inc. recorded most of the lectures. I like listening to them in the car on long drives, or when I’m working on a particular topic. (And no, I don’t have any affiliation with them whatsoever—just saying what works for me.) 

Thanks again to the Hamilton County Genealogical Society for hosting such a nice conference. I'll be listening with interest to reports from those lucky enough to be attending the NGS Conference in Las Vegas later this week. And I’m already gearing up for the FGS 2013 Conference in Ft. Wayne, which I’ll be going to August 21-24. It promises to be a great one. More on that in future posts!

--Shelley

Related Posts:

Ohio Genealogical Society Conference Opens

OGS 2013 Conference: Day One

OGS 2013 Conference: Day Two

OGS 2013 Conference: Day Two

Today I’d like to continue my overview of what I learned at the 2013 Ohio Genealogical Society Conference, which took place last week in Cincinnati. If you missed it, I wrote about the first day in OGS 2013 Conference: Day One. Word is that nearly 700 people attended the conference, which spanned three days and featured a number of great speakers. Recordings of the lectures should be available soon from Jamb, Inc. The presentations I enjoyed at OGS on Friday, April 26 included:

First Steps in Indiana Research (F06), by Harold Henderson—Harold’s talk was full of inside information and tips for using Indiana repositories and resources, both online and in person. He actually had me enthused about doing Indiana research at 8:30 in the morning—and that’s no easy task, believe me (a morning person I am not). I won’t give away his last line, but let’s just say we all left the room chuckling. Harold will also be giving this lecture at FGS 2013 in Ft. Wayne, for those of you who might be able to catch it there. And, he’s written a handy and thorough guide to researching at the Allen County Public Library that he’s offering as a free download on his website, www.midwestroots.net. I’m searching for clues on an ancestor in Indiana, so I really benefited from the guidance of Harold’s experience.

The War of 1812: America’s “Forgotten” War (F12), by Peggy Clemens Lauritzen—Well, if I wasn’t awake already, I would have been five minutes into this talk—and by the end, I was on fire. Peggy presented a riveting, fast-paced synopsis of War of 1812 history, including the various fronts, battles, issues, and key moments. I think I learned more about the War of 1812 in this one hour than I could have in several hours of reading. She also touched on bounty land applications and other resources for finding information about a War of 1812 soldier or sailor. I’m in the process of analyzing my first War of 1812 pension file, so I found this lecture especially timely. I could easily have sat through another hour or two.

Publish & Place Your Family History Writeup (F17), by Sunny McClellan Morton—I felt like I hit a home run on Friday morning after enjoying Sunny’s enthusiastic and informative lecture. She presented a variety of ways to get your family history story out of your head and into print, including some easy, non-intimidating formats. Her talk was full of practical tips and encouraging words. If you’ve hesitated to write a story because it seemed too complicated, or didn’t know how or where to get it published, you might reconsider after hearing what Sunny has to say. As a bonus, she’s generously posted the slides for her presentation on her website, www.sunnymorton.com (click on “Speaking Engagements” to find the link) for the month of May. That way, if you order the CD of her presentation, you’ll have the slides to match. It’s the next best thing to being there.

Over the Top: Researching Your World War I Ancestor (F27), by Michael Strauss—this was a good introduction to the records created about World War I soldiers and sailors. Michael went over where to find online databases, as well as the records that have never been microfilmed or digitized, and talked about what information they might hold. My great-uncle, Roy Eberhard, served in World War I. This lecture reminded me I should start looking into his service.

Finding Rejected Claims and Pension Records (F34), by J. Mark Lowe—I must have been in a military frame of mind on Friday—or perhaps I’m realizing how valuable military-era records can be. At any rate, Mark’s presentation opened my eyes to some things I might be missing. Some of the records he talked about are available online through the Library of Congress/A Century of Lawmaking or Fold3, but many others might still be hiding in original federal documents. Even if your ancestor did not fight in a war, he or she may have been affected by it and filed a claim for damages. Because these records have the potential to provide rich genealogical detail, it’s worth the effort to look for them—and I appreciated Mark’s demonstration of how to do so.

With my brain on overload, I spent the last session of the day in the Exhibit Hall. That’s actually one of my favorite things to do at any conference. But I was so engrossed in talking to the vendors that I forgot to take any pictures. I had dinner with fellow members of the Great Lakes Chapter APG and ProGen Study Group. It certainly was another full day. And one more still lay ahead…

--Shelley

P.S. This marks my 200^th blog post

Related Posts:
Ohio Genealogical Society Conference Wrap-up

Ohio Genealogical Society Conference Opens

OGS 2013 Conference: Day One

OGS 2013 Conference: Day One

Tom Jones

The first day of the Ohio Genealogical Society 2013 conference got off to a nice, relaxed 11:00 am start—which was good, because from then on, it was one busy day. I attended three class sessions and a banquet, and made a couple of quick laps around the exhibit hall. The Millennium Hotel is in downtown Cincinnati, right across the street from the Duke Energy Convention Center, site of the 2012 National Genealogical Society conference. This gave me a little déjà vu feeling every once in a while. The Hamilton County Genealogical Society certainly worked hard as host for these two big conferences back-to-back.

While I won’t actually summarize the lectures I attended, out of respect for the presenters’ material, I’ll try to offer a couple of take-away points from them. This is partly to help people who might be interested in ordering the recordings from JAMB, who taped the presentations. The recordings should be available soon. You can see the full schedule of presentations here.

Tom Jones opened the conference with the keynote address, “Strategies for Finding ‘Unfindable’ Ancestors.” This was the kind of lecture you can listen to over and over again and pick up something new each time. I think it’d be especially helpful to listen to it again after studying the articles in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ) that he referenced. Tom noted that recognizing why your ancestor seems “unfindable” may help you figure out how to find him or her. He identified 38 research barriers in eight categories, illustrating his points with samples of four case studies drawn from the NGSQ. Although he warned us that there is no quick and easy way to solve these difficult cases, he offered a number of strategies that may lead to success. This is an information-rich lecture that gives intermediate and advanced researchers a lot to think about.

Some quick notes on other sessions from Thursday, April 25:

• “Proving Immigrant Identities: Once in Europe, Then What?” (session T07) by Warren Bittner—After encouraging us to think deeply about our documents, Warren offered a variety of tips for U.S. and European research on immigrant families. He advised doing thorough U.S. research before trying to jump the pond, using gazetteers and maps, and tracing friends and associates. My take: Dates and locations, rather than a name, might be the keys to an immigrant’s identity. Given the complexities of German records, I have more work to do here before I try to find my Herrel family there.

• “Self Publishing for the Genealogist: Tips, Tricks, and Tools” (T11) by Lisa Alzo—Lisa presented an informative lecture on the rapidly growing and changing world of self publishing, particularly digital publishing (ebooks). She outlined some questions you should ask yourself, steps to follow in the family history writing process, challenges you might face, and various platforms and distribution types. My take: With all the choices available today, it’s tremendously helpful to get practical advice from someone who has experience with these publishing platforms. Lisa shared her knowledge generously. 

• “Documents and Books on the Web” (T22) by Barbara Vines Little—Barbara walked the audience through a variety of websites that are publishing original documents and materials. I knew about the Library of Congress/American Memory site before, but didn’t realize how much it offered. I also discovered many university sites that are making their unique collections available. My take: These sites will make it easier to find social, topical, and historical background for my family history, and should keep me busy exploring for a long time.

My day concluded with the Century Families of Ohio banquet. Century Families is one of four OGS lineage societies. To join, you need to document that your ancestors resided in Ohio by 100 years ago—in this case, by 1912. I proved eight of my ancestors and nine of my husband’s (I’ll list their names in a separate post).

J. Mark Lowe

The banquet speaker, J. Mark Lowe, gave an engaging presentation on “Roads and Rails ‘Cross the Ohio River” (T24). He talked about the factors that influenced migration from place to place, characteristics of those who migrated earlier vs. later, and the practical aspects of travel. He also talked about different tools and records you can use to flesh out the story of a migrating ancestor, including diaries, travelers’ guides, and maps. The talk was recorded, and I also noticed that Mark will be giving a similarly titled lecture at the upcoming 2013 FGS Conference in Ft. Wayne. Since I find migration to be a fascinating—and often challenging—piece of my family’s puzzle, I really enjoyed his presentation.

Like I said, it was a full day—and two more still lay ahead. It takes me awhile to process these things, but I promise to continue the recap soon—though not until after I unpack and regroup! 

--Shelley

Related Posts:
Ohio Genealogical Society Conference Wrap-Up
OGS 2013 Conference: Day Two

Ohio Genealogical Society Conference Opens

Ohio Genealogical Society Conference Opens

Can it really be late April already? It’s been a whirlwind month in my house. But an exciting one, especially as I’m now in Cincinnati getting ready for the opening of the 2013 Ohio Genealogical Society Conference. The theme, "Expanding Your Ancestry through Technology," is a good one, and I noticed a lot of technology and social media presentations on the schedule. Tom Jones will kick off the conference at 11:00 am with the keynote address, “Strategies for Finding ‘Unfindable’ Ancestors.” That’s a topic I’m eager to hear more about, since I have an abiding suspicion that a couple of my ancestors were dropped off by aliens. After that, the doors to the Exhibit Hall open, and a in the afternoon a great line-up of speakers will take to the podiums. The action continues pretty much nonstop through Saturday afternoon.

OGS doesn’t have Official Bloggers or any such thing, but I’ll try to fit in a few reports, time permitting, during or shortly after the conference. In the meantime, if you’re at the OGS conference and see me, please stop and say hello. I’d love to meet you!