Genealogy Conference and Education

Continuing your Genealogy and Family Research Education

Attending a genealogy conference is one of the most rewarding things you can do as a family researcher or professional genealogist. Not only will you benefit from the genealogy research education but you can hear about the different areas and opportunities that are out there. Genealogy education is something that never ends. There are always new records being released, new repositories opening their doors and let’s not forget new websites to conduct your research.

There are several society conferences and presentations coming up these next few months, here are a few you might want to check out.  

IGHR (Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research) on June 23-28  

Ontario Genealogical Society  on June 16-18  

McHenry County Illinois Genealogical Society on July 8  

Genealogical Institute on Federal Records on July 10-14  

BYU Conference on Family History on July 25  

Palatines to America National Conference  on July 28-30 

Delaware

Delaware Genealogical Society  

• ·         Researching Military Records for Genealogy on June 10  
• ·         Saving Family Treasures on July 2  
• ·         Adventures in Research on Aug 6  

Downstate Genealogy Society  

• ·         Downstate Genealogy Society on June 10  

Sussex County Genealogical Society  

• ·         Breaking Through Brick Walls on May 25  
• ·         Beginners Intro to Learning About Genealogy on July 15  

Maryland

Maryland Genealogical Society  

• ·         Finding Overseas Origins of Your English Ancestors  on June 1 
• ·         Reward and Remembrance: Post-Military Service Records on June 3  
• ·         We are Maryland: Free Genealogy Workshop on Western Maryland on June 17  

Another bonus is all the networking you will be able to do, friends you’ll make, and if you’re lucky meet some long-lost family members. 

Day Two of NGS Completed

    Well with day two underway there are still a large number of family historians, librarians, genealogist archivist and many more that are interested in what’s offered here a NGS. Just to give you a quick visual, I’m sure many of you have seen the news clips that show “Black Friday” and the swarm of shoppers entering the stores. Well, that’s what you can see here as they enter or exit one of the many lectures or even the exhibit hall. 

     Again there were many great presentations to attend and I was very happy with one of the choices I made. I attended “Research Jewish Genealogical Records From Your Couch” presented by Daniel Horowitz. He offered many useful tips and sites to visit while doing your research that I would not have known about if not for this presentation. His sense of humor through the presentation was just the perfect mix with his knowledge. This was another plus on my experience here at the first NGS conference that I’ve attended. 

Day One of the NGS Conference

    

  Well I have nothing to complain about when it comes to the start of this conference. As I’ve said before this is my first National Genealogical Society (NGS) conference and it appears to be a very well attended conference, I hear the numbers of attendees is in the thousands. I’ve attended a few lectures and thought they were very well presented and I always think of it successful when I walk out with new pieces of information.

     One of the presentations I attended this morning was “Tracking Pennsylvania Ancestors Keys to Research” the presenter was Kay Haviland Freilich CG, CGL, FNGS. This was the first time I have seen her present and I can say if you had a question, any question about locating records while doing research in Pennsylvania she would be the person to ask. Some interesting points that she shared and I thought I would share with all of you. While searching Philadelphia you need to look at both county and city records as for the rest of the state records stay in the county they were created in. If you are taking advantage of searching the septennial census records you might be surprised to find they hold information about African Americans.  

NGS Countdown Preparation

The countdown has begun and the NGS (National Genealogical Society) conference if fast approaching. I don’t know about most of you but I’m getting excited, this will be the first NGS conference I’ve attended.  Years past there always seemed to be a scheduling conflict that interfered with me attending. But not this year and I’m interested in seeing what awaits me and how it compares to the FGS (Federal Genealogical Society) conferences that I’ve attended. I’m sure there will be some differences but the “getting ready” process is the same.  I don’t know about you but I’m one of those that checks and re-checks my packing list so the first stage of checking is under way.

Plane reservations

      Confirmation saved in NGS file

      Printed confirmation in binder

Transportation from airport   

      Confirmation saved in NGS file

      Printed confirmation in binder

Hotel reservations  

      Confirmation saved in NGS file

      Printed confirmation in binder

NGS conference

      Paid for and confirmation saved in NGS file

      Printed confirmation in binder

NGS Lecture picks

      Saved in the NGS file

      NGS mobile saved (This is a very handy app to have on your phone. If you haven’t checked it out yet I recommend that you give it a view)

Cable check  

      Make sure all labels are attached to cables (phone charger, computer cables, tablet, etc.)

Suitcase Packing List

Personal Items

      6 outfits

      6 pairs of shoes including slippers

      P.J.’s

      Robe

      Bag of Bling

      2 belts

      Jacket

      Unmentionables (oops I mentioned them)

      3 pairs socks

      Sewing kit

Toiletries

      Tooth brush

      Tooth paste

      Floss

      Mouth wash

      Make-up (don’t want to scare anyone)

      Brush

      Blow dryer

      Curling Iron

      Shampoo/Conditioner/soap

      Razor (dang beard)

      Deodorant (a must in close quarters for days)

      Facial cleaning equipment (don’t ask)

      Medication (be sure to include Tylenol and Tums you never know)

      Lotion

      Nail polish

      Q-tips

      Cotton squares

      Tweezers

      Nail clippers

      Nail file

      Scissors

Workcase Packing List

      NGS Binder

      Laptop

      Laptop cord

      Tablet

      Tablet cord

      Mechanical pencils

      Refill lead for pencils

      2 Red ink pens

      2 Blue ink pens

      2 Black ink pens

      Four multi colored highlighters

      Business cards

      Power Brick

      Flip-Pal Scanner

      Rechargeable batteries

      Mouse w/key

      Livescribe

      Livescribe cord

      Large Livescribe book

      Computer lock

      Legal pad of paper

      Binder with all travel documents

Phew! Now I can set back and relax for at least a couple days then it’s time to implement the packing process. How ready are you for the conference? Have I left anything out? What does your packing list look like?