NERGC 2013: Day 3

Saturday morning meant the end of NERGC was near.  I began with the New York track, starting with “But She Died in Upstate New York in the 1850s: How Can I Identify Her Parents?” By David Ouimette.  New York state is not the easiest to research in.  Vital records did not start until 1880, were not prevalent until the early 1900s and even though they are open to researchers, they are not available to browse, instead you have to fill out a form and hope.

This means that you need to use alternate records and get creative in your search.  David discussed the importance of cluster genealogy, looking at neighbors, checking neighboring localities and going forward in order to go back, since you never know what information a descendent might have that can help you.  My favorite thing he said, “the search for an individual is the search for the family” is one of the most important things to remember when conducting genealogical research.  Even professional genealogists do not know everything.  At the end of the session a woman in the audience asked if he had looked at a certain record set for his case study.  Hopefully this new resource will help him in his search.

The second part of the NY track was “Spanning the Great New York Abyss: Connecting Generations When No Vital Records Exist” by Laura Murphy DeGrazia.  Laura gave a lot of resources for NY researchers and I will write a post expanding on this later in the week.

After lunch (and another volunteer lunch ticket collection), I attended the workshop “Baker's Dozen Steps to Writing Research Reports Workshop” by Elissa Scalise Powell.  If you have the opportunity to take this workshop, do it.  I wish someone had explained research reports to me like this when I was still a baby genealogist.  Everyone should be writing research reports using the standards shown in the BCG manual.  Elissa recommends having a template for these reports that you can fill in throughout your research process.  This report should be the very first thing you do, prior to any research, for any question you have.  The way she explained it made it seem so easy that of course you will always write a research report.  My goal is to write and post these on my blog weekly, particularly showing the process of writing it throughout the next few weeks.

My last workshop of the conference was “My Grandmother was a Fascist: Alien Registration Files and Italian immigrant communities up to WWII” by Shellee A. Morehead.  This session was actually useful to anyone with immigrant ancestors who did not get naturalized until after 1940.  The Alien Registration Act of 1940 made every un-naturalized immigrant register on a yearly basis.  To see if your ancestor has a file, go here.

The next NERGC conference will be in 2015 in Providence, Rhode Island.  I can’t wait!

NERGC 2013: Day 2

Day 2 at NERGC began with the “Evidence Analysis” workshop by Barbara Mathews.  Barbara started by giving us a list of useful books, all of which I happily have in my genealogical library, that explain the terms used for evidence and sources.  We also got a sneak peak at the new terms Tom Jones has put in his new book out in just a few weeks (have you pre-ordered yours yet?).  She then discussed the importance of evaluating each source and the information found therein. 

Next came my favorite part, discussing case studies.  First we looked at one on straightforward information.  This would be something such as looking at the parentage of your parent, where all of the documents match.  Nice and simple, but you still want to write up a proof argument on it.  Next we looked at one involving conflicting evidence, involving inferred relationships on early census records and secondary information from a death certificate.  Worksheets such as census comparison charts helped us figure out who a person’s parents were.

Last she gave us a lot of documents to establish the correct parentage of Charles Goodrich.  This was published in multiple printed genealogies, with differing results.  We were put into groups and asked to come up with an answer and a reason why.  I am happy to say I came up with the correct answer!  It showed the importance of always going beyond printed genealogies to sources such as probate and vital records.  When writing out a proof argument it is important that we not hide these types of conflicts, but instead discuss them and why we reached our conclusion.  And as always, footnote, footnote, footnote.

After the workshop, I wandered to the blogger area in the expo center, which was sadly deserted.  I then looked around the exhibits a bit and finally purchased The Journey Takers after about three years of meaning to, and There's a Map on My Lap!: All About Maps (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library), which is a great introduction to maps for children.  I also got an amazing deal on the 2004 APG conference syllabus and the 2011 NGS conference syllabus.  I can’t wait to read through them.  Then I went to volunteer experience #1, collecting tickets for lunch. 

My first afternoon workshop was “Should you believe your eyes? Sizing up Sources & Information” by Laura Murphy DeGrazia.  The answer to this, of course, is no.  It is important to look at who the informant is, the condition of the material, the purpose of the document, the context and procedure it was created with, the completeness of the information and the creator’s conventions, aka always read the introductory material, for each source you find.  Once you have done this, you can compare and contrast all of the data you have and reconsider the relevance of each piece.  I also volunteered for this session to check name badges and collect evaluation sheets.  I highly recommend this very easy volunteer position, as you help conference organizers by doing a little extra work at a session you would attend anyway and you get entered to win some awesome prizes.

In what turned out to be my last workshop of the day, I went to “Digging Up the Dirt on Your Farmer” by Lori Thornton.  Here I met Madaleine Laird, a new blogger who you should definitely check out!  Lori gave us a multitude of sources to find information on your farmer.  She is the one person who has more farmers in her family tree than I do (my ancestry has a random gardener and day laborers in it).  Always look at the agricultural census if it is available, as well as tax, land and patent records.

After this I was pretty fried.  I was going to go to the poster sessions, but an hour of standing wasn’t looking so good, so instead I came back to the hotel for a quick nap, which turned into my waking up halfway through the blogging special interest group I had planned to attend.  At that point my husband and I went to grab dinner and then came back to relax and watch HGTV.  Only one more day left at the conference!

NERGC 2013: Day 1

At the end of the NERGC conference in 2011 I was fortunate enough to win a free registration to the 2013 conference in Manchester, New Hampshire, which began today.  I unfortunately missed the opening session this morning as we arrived at our hotel at 3am this morning, but I attended 3 sessions today, as well as visiting the exhibition hall.

The first session was Colleen Fitzpatrick’s “The Dead Horse Investigation: Not Just the Facts, Ma'am.”  Colleen showed how much information you can find to identify a photograph by looking at all the little details and using other sources, such as city directories and census records.

Next I went to “What Exactly is a "Reasonably Exhaustive Search"?” by Laura Murphy DeGrazia.  While many genealogists know they are supposed to complete a reasonably exhaustive search, most do not know what that entails.  Since each circumstance is different, there is no checklists or shortcuts, instead, we all need to learn how to conduct a reasonably exhaustive search from experience.  She recommended reading as many journal articles as possible and studying the footnotes and sources used, as well as showing your work to experts at events such as the Ancestor Road Show at NERGC to learn more.  Laura was a great speaker and one I will be adding to my “must see at conferences” list.

My last session today was by one of my favorite speakers, F. Warren Bittner, on “Complex Evidence: What it is, How it works, and Why it matters? (An example from NYC)”.  According to Warren “the goal of family history is to establish identity” and if we cannot do this, all of our other goals are a waste.  In order to truly establish identity you need to use complex evidence and analyze and compare all of your sources to create a written proof summary.  The problem many genealogists have is that family tree software and charts make it seem that filling in dates and sources of each person is enough, when really that isn’t the point of genealogical research at all.  You can have a birth, marriage and death date for John Smith, but they may be three different John Smiths, which is why the analysis is necessary.  The presentation reminded me once again of the work I have to do with my research beyond proper sourcing and putting it in Legacy.

The society fair began at 5:15, followed by the exhibit hall opening at 6pm.  Not having New England ancestry, there were not any societies I was interested in joining, although I was impressed by and interested in the Maine Old Cemetery Association and the work they do to preserve cemeteries.  The exhibit hall was very full and it was a bit difficult to look at the booths.  I bought New York State Censuses & Substitutes by William Dollarhide, which I am very excited to add to my genealogy library.

Tomorrow is a long day starting with a workshop on evidence analysis in the morning and ending with a blogging special interest group at night. 

GRIP: Final Thoughts

After a weekend to decompress from GRIP, I wanted to put my thoughts in order.

• Are Institutes Worth the Cost and Time:  Beyond a doubt.  In fact, I can’t wait to go back next year and am contemplating adding SLIG to my January plans.  Institutes are a great way to look in depth at a topic that a typical lecture cannot do.  Cost-wise, GRIP is an amazing deal.  For under $700, I received one week of lectures, syllabus, room, board and an awesome polo shirt.  This is probably one of the best values available in genealogical education.
• The Best Part of GRIP:  The people, just like at conferences.  I met so many interesting people in class, at meals and as a roommate.  The coursework is great, but the people you meet are even better.
• What to do Next: Write research plans, order FHL microfilm and search the German newspapers of Buffalo.  I also want to practice reading Gothic Script.
• Adding on a Research Trip: Always a great idea if you can do it.  Since I was driving past Eden, NY, where my Gress ancestors settled from Germany, I stopped by the library.  They had a three volume history of Eden which included a few pages on the German migration there (apparently, most came from the Alsace-Lorraine region) and on which churches the German immigrants went to.  I now have a much more specific list of churches to contact and great information for writing an immigrant profile.
• Which Course Next Year:  Can I take them all?  Next year’s courses are:
  • Intermediate Genealogy: Tools for Digging Deeper with Paula Stewart-Warren
  • Skills for Proof with Dr. Thomas W. Jones
  • Bridging the 1780-1840 Gap: From New England to the Midwest with D. Joshua Taylor
  • Military Records: From Cradle to Grave with Craig R. Scott
  • Your Immigrant Ancestors’ Stories: Writing a Quality Narrative with John P. Colletta
  • Advanced Research Tools: Land Records with Rick and Pam Sayre
  As you can see, these are some fantastic courses!  I’m leaning toward the Immigrant Ancestor’s Stories or Land Records, but it is going to be a tough choice.  Hopefully, I will see you there!

GRIP Day 5: Back to Reality

My brain was pretty done after 12 hours of lectures and talking and learning yesterday.  It is amazing how much information I have learned in such a short time.  Today (Friday) I woke up ready to take in as much as possible on my last day here, which was a good thing, as the records discussed today should lead to much genealogical success. 

Our first lesson today was on the German records held at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland.  These records, the Rasse und Siedlungs Hauptamt (RuSHA), were created in Germany by the SS in the 1930s and are full of Ahnentafel charts and other genealogical information.  These charts can go back to the 1600s in some cases, but always until ancestors born by 1800.  If you can find an ancestor or collateral relative, they will be tremendously useful to you.

I do not normally quote syllabus materials, as they are under copyright and one of the ways genealogists are able to make a living, but I feel that the following sentence about the SS records is important enough to break this rule; it is copyright of John T. Humphrey.  “These records, the activities associated with these records and the reasons for their creation demonstrate the role of genealogy in establishing racist policies during a tragic era in Germany and they serve as a warning for generations in other countries yet to be born.” 

I like to think that genealogists are less racist than others, as they see firsthand that everyone is connected/related, but as we can see, this is not always the case.  These records are useful for many genealogists, but when searching for them, remember why they were made and have a moment of silence for the victims of the policies that created them.

Our second lesson was on researching Germans in American repositories and libraries, particularly the Library of Congress.  The LoC has one of the largest German collections outside Germany.  By searching their catalog, you can find lineage books, information created by state societies and other books of interest to German genealogy, such as Marion Dexter Learned’s “Manuscript Materials Relating to American History in German State Archives.”  It is important to use both English and German spellings of items in order to see their full holdings.  In addition to the LoC, it is important to check the Family History Library, university libraries and public libraries.

Our day ended with certificates, goodbyes and long trips home.  Since one can never have to much genealogy, I am planning to stop in Eden, Erie, NY on my way to Buffalo to see what I can find on Joseph and Caroline Gress.

GRIP Day 4: So Many Sources, So Little Time

Today (Thursday) John said that genealogists have 3 jobs:

1. To identify sources
2. To find the information about your family in those sources
3. Write up our findings (they are of no use in a notebook)

He made sure to give a multitude of sources for us to look for.  Whether church records from the seventeenth century, compilations, maps or online databases, I now have dozens of items to look for while looking for my ancestors across the pond.

We began the day looking at maps and gazetteers.  In German research, the Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs is the most important gazetteer in German research.  There is a “how to” book by Wendy K. Uncapher that is very useful.

Our second session was on sources of information in Germany.  Published sources from Germany are much more accessible than archives in Germany.  It is important to look for civil records (especially family registers for those from Württemberg), land records, and house books, among others.

After lunch we discussed how to find your ancestors in those published records.  Although there will always be transcription and translation errors, these are still great sources to use.  Make sure to check the US first, both the Family History Center and WorldCat, before heading to Germany to look for them.

Our last course was on finding German ancestors on the internet.  John said that the internet has revolutionized the way we go about researching.  One of the most important things to remember in searching is to use German key words as well as English.  You can also search through Google.de for more German language hits.

Our evening sessions began with a Q & A with the instructors.  My favorite line from the entire week was when Josh Taylor was discussing Who Do You Think You Are? and mentioned that he had told producers “I don’t do southern Indian princesses.”  An amusing line with an important point: every genealogist has a different area of expertise; one does not have to know everything.

Our second session was by the creator/director of the Photo Antiquities Museum in Pittsburg.  He went through the history of photography complete with examples that he passed around.  He was tremendously passionate about the subject, which made the presentation even better to watch.  I look forward to visiting his museum in the future.

Only 1 day left!

GRIP Day 3: The Center of the Labyrinth

‘

Wednesday means we are halfway through the Institute, which is pretty hard to believe.  Our morning session was on the Pennsylvania Germans.  Although I do not have Pennsylvania ancestry, many of the records discussed would be useful to any research.  In the end, it is all about the research strategies and methodologies you use.  The second session continued this theme with case studies of immigrants to the area.

After some excellent discussion at lunch (where I met Karen of Karen’s Genealogy Oasis blog), we came back to “Finding Places of Origin in Germany.”  Although I have a few ancestral villages, I do not have them for most of my German immigrant ancestors.  John reiterated that whole family genealogy (aka cluster genealogy or FAN research) is tremendously important in these cases.  Newspapers, particularly German language newspapers, can be very useful in this.  Even if you have the obituary from an English language newspaper, which is often just a short death notice, find the obituary in the newspaper of their native language for more information.

Continuing to the last session of the day, we learned about “Typefaces: Published Sources and German-American Newspapers.”  Finding those newspapers mentioned above takes work, as does being able to read them.  After learning German Gothic script yesterday, learning Fraktur, which is the typeface German newspapers use, was much easier.  Since it is typed, it is always the same, plus, you can cheat with it using a word program with the typeface installed.  Newspapers can also be used to bring your family history to life through items such as society notices, weather and passenger ship advertisements.  The advertisements shown were fantastic.  Check out the Library of Congress Chronicling America site.

After class we went to work on our “homework” deciphering an obituary typed in Fraktur.  It is much easier to decipher with 4 sets of eyes and a little help from a paper dictionary and the Leo online dictionary.  Then came dinner with more lively discussion, followed by reading the BCG certification examples.  I know I can get to that level someday, but I am definitely not anywhere close yet!

A few of us then went to explore the grounds of the college.  First we hiked to the cemetery, which is lovely.  I will post on that Tuesday.  From there we went to the labyrinth, which according to the brochure is part of the Keams Spirituality Center.  Although I have always wanted to, I have never walked a labyrinth before.  What an amazing experience!  One which I plan to repeat in the future.  The image above is of the center of the labyrinth.  I have to say that I am much more a fan of this than corn mazes.  There is a distinct path; it may be long and winding, but eventually you reach the center.  You can then take that relaxation/reflection/knowledge and head out, onto other paths.  In many ways GRIP is like that path.  We are given a roadmap toward the knowledge, rather than having to wander around aimlessly.  We stay in the center of knowledge for a while and then head out on our own following the recommendations given.

Tomorrow we look at maps and gazetteers, explore sources of information in Germany, learn about published sources in the US and then find our German ancestors on the internet.  I see lots of note taking in my future!

GRIP: Day 2

Another early start today (Tuesday) for breakfast and catching up online.  Our first session today was on German church records.  John discussed how church records brought the common man out of obscurity.  Prior to these, you can only research nobility or the winners of history.  With local parish records, every person has a name and a spot in the past.  These are the records that will help you put together families and the joining of families (through marriage).  They are the most important record group for German research.

After our church record introduction it was time to learn to read said records.  The Germans used Gothic script, which is what has kept me from ordering parish records from the villages I have identified as my ancestral home.  After a couple hours of reading words and paragraphs with his Gothic script font, I was a parish reading rock star.  Then came the copies of actual parish registers after lunch and it was like I had never seen these characters before.  As with anything, this will be a skill I learn in a slow and steady manner.  I intend to practice as much as possible on films from the FHL when I get back to Syracuse.

After dinner tonight, I purchased my pile of books which will make for some interesting reading for German research and narrative writing.  Then I headed to Rick and Pamela Boyer Sayre’s lecture on Google Earth for Genealogists: The Sequel.  This was one of the lectures I was not able to attend at the NGS conference, so it was nice to have a second chance.  I am amazed by all that you can create with Google Earth and all of the ways it can help in your research.  I have to admit that it is not a program I use frequently, but I will be ordering some introductory books on it when I get home.  The Sayre’s will be teaching a course on advanced land records at the 2013 GRIP which I am told is fantastic.  Deciding which course to take next year is going to be tough.

The lecture ended at 8:30 and after dropping off my belongings I took a walk around campus.  La Roche is a beautiful campus surrounded by the woods.  They have large statues of the Stations of the Cross that lead down a gravel path toward the woods which ends at a cemetery.  Since it was late, I did not make it all the way to the cemetery, but I plan on wandering around it tomorrow.  Only a genealogical institute would have attendees excited by a cemetery on the grounds.

Our lectures Wednesday will be the Pennsylvania Germans, finding places of origin in Germany and typefaces, published sources and German-American newspapers.  At night there is a public lecture on Pennsylvania Research, which I may not attend due to my lack of Pennsylvanian ancestry.  I do have a great-great uncle who randomly got married in Scranton, however, so maybe they can tell me why (he and his wife were from and living in Buffalo).

Get a GRIP on German Genealogy: Days 0-1

I arrived at the La Roche College campus Sunday afternoon for the inaugural Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburg where I am taking the German Genealogical Research track with John T. Humphrey.

After registration (where we received our course notebook and GRIP polo shirt) and unloading my car, we had a simple buffet dinner and a welcome to the institute.  Then it was back to the room to begin reading Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff, followed by an early bedtime.

Monday began with an early breakfast and then off to class.  We began with participant introductions and it was interesting to hear the variety of reasons people were taking the course.  We were then given an introduction of the course and a background of Germans in the US.  My biggest takeaways from the morning sessions was that genealogy is local, both in the US and in Germany and to find a document that your ancestor has signed, as it will give you their German surname.  This is a tactic that I imagine would work for any immigrant ancestor.

After lunch we were taught German language skills for genealogist and a primer on German history.  The language skills were similar to what I had learned in my German course in Hamburg.  The German history was interesting, particularly since it made me look at Germany differently, as Germany didn’t exist as a country in 1871.  He also said that jobs can be as important as surnames for German research, as they tended to be the same through the generations, even in the US.

After class ended, we had some downtime, then dinner and browsing through the books brought by Maia’s Books.  At 7:30, there was a public lecture by Pam Stone Eagleson on Telling the Tales: Writing the Family Narrative.  This was the type of lecture that you wish lasted longer than the one hour provided.  Pam showed her writing process, particularly how to add historical to your research to create a story.  After her workshop, I want to write, write, write (hence this blog post). 

Tomorrow will be church records and handwriting skills, which is rather daunting and one of the main reasons I took this course.

NGS 2012: Final Recap

It is hard to believe that one week ago the NGS conference began.  This was the largest genealogy conference I have attended and I look forward to many, many more.  Here are my general thoughts on the conference and recommendations for the next one:

• First of all, I ask attendees in the future to please be polite to each other.  I had doors slammed in my face because people were in too much of a hurry to wait 5 seconds and hold them open and the commotion surrounding full sessions, with people shoving, cutting in line past people waiting much longer and being just plain rude, is not necessary.  It’s just genealogy people.  If all else fails, I’ll give you the $12 to buy a recording to listen to later.  Also, remember to wear comfy shoes, bring a water bottle and snack bars, get enough sleep and take care of your biological processes in a timely manner.  These things will keep you in a much friendlier place.
• In that same vein, please NGS, have Elizabeth Shown Mills give her presentations in the ball room or have a live streaming available.  I do not need to be in the same room with her, I could happily listen while watching the slides in another room.  I am told RootsTech does this type of thing well, maybe they could help.
• Plan in advance which lectures you will attend and let the conference know so that they can plan the room size accordingly.  If you aren’t 100% sure, mark the option with the most well known speaker.
• If staying in a hotel outside the city, check rush hour traffic ahead of time.  In Cincinnati, this tripled the amount of time it took to get from my hotel to the conference center.
• Attend as many social events as possible.  As great as the sessions were, my favorite parts were talking with other genealogists, particularly bloggers, who are tremendously friendly and interesting.  Also, be involved in social media, as these also give you a chance to connect with other attendees.
• Even though everyone who applied to be a official blogger got to be one, I still felt tremendously honored to get my badge sticker saying I was one.  I think the inclusiveness of official bloggers lately (such as the 1940 census project) make for a much better experience.  It allows people of all different levels and interests to participate, which gives everyone more information.  It also made me much more aware of what was going on, as I wanted to let everyone following #NGS2012 know.

My plans due to the conference:

• Research reports!  Nearly every session I attended spoke of the importance of research reports for your own research.  This will help me with inferential evidence and to become a much better genealogist.
• Search railroad records for my ancestors whom this applies to.
• Read more case studies.  I have always skimmed my NGSQ and other genealogy journals for items of interest to me.  I now understand the importance of all case studies to help me become a better and more well-rounded genealogist.  Time to download the back issues.
• Create a 5 year plan in relation to my genealogical skills, with the endgame being certification by 2017.
• Start saving my pennies for 2013!  I am lucky enough to have a free place to stay and a lot of airline miles, which means more money available for extra activities like lunches and for buying more at the expo

What were your thoughts on the conference?  Will you be attending the next one?

NGS 2012: Final Day

It is hard to believe how quickly Saturday came.  The three morning classes this day were the ones I had most been looking forward to. 

First, I went to Railroad Men and the Records They Left Behind by Patricia Walls Stamm.  My paternal grandfather, his father and his grandfather all worked for the railroad, as did others in his line, so I was looking forward to learning more about the records available for them.  What surprised me the most is that railroad papers traveled with the person in charge of them. You have to look everywhere to find out who currently holds the archives for a particular railroad.  Most railroads have historical societies which can also help with these records.

My second session was Research Reports for Ourselves:More than a Research Log Presented by Paula Stuart-Warren.  I think everyone was surprised by the packed house for this lecture.  It was quite apparent that I am not the only one who does not, as Ms. Stuart-Warren said, treat her work as well as I would a client.

My number one takeaway from this class is to follow the BCG report standards, using proper citations, for all research done.  This will ensure that both I and other researchers know what has been done and what needs to be done in the future.  This class led perfectly into my last session of the morning, Information Overload? Effective Project Planning, Research, Data Management & Analysis by Elizabeth Shown Mills.

This was the best class of the entire conference, in my opinion, and I highly recommend purchasing the CD recording.  The premise of the class was that when genealogical programs came into being, researchers stopped writing research reports and good research logs and instead just entered data into the program and stopped.  Actually, data entry should be the last thing we do, only after all research and analysis is complete.  For more information on what our reports should look like, look on the APG website.  While sitting through this class it was made crystal clear that I need to stop researching and re-enter all of my data into a research log and a genealogy program, making sure all events are caught, that the citations are perfect, that I am looking at FANs and that I am analyzing the data, including writing down further research plans.

After this class I made one more loop around the expo, where I met Katie Chapman, one of the creators of Geungle.  To begin with, Katie is tremendously sweet and very knowledgeable about organizing ones genealogy.  I am very excited for this site to come live in the next few months, as I feel it will be the type of genealogy “program” that will pull together all that Paula Stuart-Warren and Elizabeth Shown Mills spoke of, which helping genealogists collaborate in a much fuller way.

After this, my husband and I headed out of Cincinnati, skipping the afternoon sessions, as I had to work Sunday and it is a long trip back to Syracuse.  I had an amazing time at this conference and cannot wait to attend the 2013 conference in Las Vegas.  I am also hopeful that I will visit Cincinnati again soon, as there is much of the city I have left to explore.

NGS 2012: Day 3, PM

 

My first session of the afternoon on Friday was Making the DNA Connection by John Pereira of Ancestry.com.  This was a discussion on Ancestry’s new DNA test.  It looks interesting, but I really need to do more research before making a DNA test purchase.  There is a waitlist for this test and it is available only to members of Ancestry.com

My last session for today was Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion: Catholic Church Records by Dave Schroeder.  Having recently begun searching for my father’s side of the family and my husband’s mother’s family, Catholic Church records are going to be tremendously important.  I was pleasantly surprised by all of the information available on the records and that records are available beginning in the last 1800s.  Check with diocese archivists to see if records are available.  And remember, a small donation to the church never hurts.

After the session was over, we headed to dinner where I gave a brief beginning genealogy lesson to the server, who was interested in using the family history search as a bonding tool with her mom (she was college age).  I hope she decides to start this research.  After a full day of genealogy, I ended it with the latest episode of Who Do You Think You Are? and searching the British National Archives site for probate records.

NGS 2012 Day 3, AM

It was hard to believe on Friday morning that the conference was half-way done.  I had learned so much already and some of the sessions I had been looking forward to the most were over the next two days.
I began day 3 with Printed Legends and Missing Footnotes: Dissecting 19th and 20th Century Compiled Genealogies by D. Joshua Taylor.  Most genealogists come across a compiled genealogy which is unsourced.  Surprisingly, these are not always correct  It is important to verify as much of the information as possible.  Additionally, remember that just because a like does not have a + next to it does not mean the line ends, they just did not have information on them, something I have found in my Perrine research.  My favorite tip from this lecture was to look for reviews of the book in its contemporary journals.  I had never thought of this.  This is a great lecture for purchase if you are wondering what to do with compiled genealogies about your family,
My second session was on Facial Recognition Software: Application for Genealogists? with Greg Kipper.  Kipper began by debunking what he called the “CSI effect.”  Despite what we see on TV, the technology is not currently there to identify people consistently with this software.  In the future, we can hope for improved technology that will be able to compare faces and make matches, which would be tremendously useful for unidentified family photos.
My last session of the morning was Documentation: The What, Why, and Where by Tom Jones.  I really liked how Dr. Jones made documentation so basic.  We need to have sources that allow yourself and others to find the information again.  Once you have the basics down, you can use books such as Evidence Explained (aff) to get into further detail.  This lecture would be especially useful to those new in genealogy, in properly sourcing your genealogy, or who get overwhelmed by Evidence Explained.
For the lunch break, my husband and I went to the Istanbul Café, which serrves wonderful Turkish food.  I highly recommend the cold appetizer sampler and any of the doner kebab meals.  From here we went to the Ohio Book Store which has a large genealogy, local history and US history section.  If you have local ancestry here, be sure to check out the balcony at this used book store.

NGS 2012: Day 2, PM

My afternoon on Thursday began with the Palatines to America luncheon feating Marianne S. Wokeck on “Framing Genealogy: How Family Research Enriches the Ways in Which We See the World".” (If anyone has a copy of the syllabus, please let me know, I was not able to snag one.)  I really enjoyed her talk, particularly the idea that how a person remembers a place changes based on age.  If you moved away at 8, everything in your mind will be bigger due to your small size.

After lunch, I headed to

German Marriage Laws and Customs by Warren Bittner.  I wish I could go to the Palatines to America conference to hear more from him.  This was a fascinating presentation, full of great photographs on the power point slides.

My key takeaways were on “stands” in German society (similar to an Indian caste), to look for word "dispensation" on a marriage record, because the diocese may have much more information on the couple trying to get married and that there was a time when religious ceremony and civil registration dates varied greatly, making everyone involved wonder when they were “officially” married.  This is an excellent presentation to purchase on CD due to the tremendous detail Bittner went into.

My last session was Assumptions: A Genealogical Slippery Slope by Claire Bettag.  This was a very useful lesson on how our assumptions can mean we do not do the best research.  She focused on the importance of collaborating many sources to go the truth.  Surprising to some, even official records can be wrong and they can be wrong on purpose, for reasons of the person it involves (the one often cited is a man lying about his age to go into the military early).  She also mentioned that rejected applications can contain the most information, similar to the dispensations I had learned about in the prior session.

After this session ended, I went to purchase some things from the BCG booth, then headed for dinner with my husband.  After getting lost on very pretty back roads in Kentucky, we found a great Mexican restaurant.  The rest of the night was spent zoning out to Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy and HGTV.

NGS 2012 Day 2: AM

Day 2 (Thursday) of the NGS conference began in a much nicer fashion than day 1: not much actual gridlock on the highway and I arrived in time for the first session, which was on BCG certification.  As this is on my 5 year plan, I thought I should get some basics.  I only stayed for the first half of the session (it ran through 2 session times), but learned a lot.  It is time to go through the manual with a fine tooth comb, up my research reports and work on friends research so that I can practice writing “client reports”.

After this, I headed to Indexes! Indexes! Indexes! How to Find People Who Don't Seem to Be There! with Elizabeth Shown Mills.  This was my first time seeing her speak and I was quite impressed by her presentation.  My favorite part was when she mentioned that “Cassell” can be indexed as “Cafell”, which I am hoping will help me with my Casell (but often spelled Cassel or Cassell) ancestors.

The best strategies she gave, in my opinion, was to use wildcards for vowels whenever possible and to consider ethnicity as a surname.  I never would have thought to look for Italian, Marco or German, Nicolas in my search, but if the person taking the information couldn’t understand or figure out the last name, they put it down like this, instead.  If you have had problems finding people in indexes (who hasn’t), I recommend purchasing this lecture CD.

I ended my morning by starting in a session, but by that 3rd hour of sitting, I had had enough, so I went to the expo to index the 1940 census and wander around.  I actually got so caught up in indexing (my favorite part was the indexer who put Long Island as a foreign country from the Bronx-indeed it sometimes seems like it is…), that I was a few minutes late to my lunch lecture.  I will write about this lecture and my afternoon sessions in the next post.

NGS 2012 Day 1, Morning

I spent the first hour of the morning on the parking lot known at the I-75 trying to get to the opening session at 8am.  Sadly, I missed the beginning of this session, but luckily heard Patricia Van Shaik speak on the Cincinnati Panorama of 1848, a daguerreotype.  I can not even begin to tell you how much I love what the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County have done with this photo; in fact, this type of project is the reason I went to school for my MLS.  You can explore the photo from their website.  If all libraries offered sites like this, with photos and historical information, our genealogies would be so much richer (side note: if your library needs an MLS to do this, I’m available!)

At 9:30 the exhibit hall opened.  I went in about 5 minutes late, as I was sitting next to a set of doors they never opened.  My first trip around the the hall was cursory to look at books I may want, people I may want to speak with and to get badge ribbons.  I was able to talk to Chris Whitten from WikiTree for quite a while.  I realized I have been remiss in not blogging about this wonderful new site, which I will make up for later this week.

My first workshop was Family Tapestry: Integrating Proof Arguments by Jeanne Larzalere Bloom (click link to see my write-up).  Later, I went to the APG luncheon, which I will write a separate post on later this week.

Read about the second half of my day here.

NGS 2012 Day 1, Afternoon

After lunch Wednesday (which will receive it's own post later this week), I attended Fitting the Pieces Together: A Case Study in City Research by F. Warren Bittner, CG.  This was one of the best presentations I have ever seen.  Mr. Bittner is a wonderful presenter and his presentation was good for all levels of genealogists, in my opinion.  This is one I would recommend purchasing the CD for.

Bittner started with a basic overview of the genealogical proof standard and then put it into practice with a case study on his New York City ancestors.  The main takeaways from this lecture are that the address a family lived at in a city is one of the most important items you can have.  The second is that indirect evidence which comes from comparing documents tends to provide the best proof of identity.  Lastly, always make sure every statement you make is cited.  My favorite quote was that that when looking at  “complex evidence: Compare sources, resolve conflicts, must include a written proof summary. Otherwise, we doom the next generation to redo the research.”

The last workshop that I attended was

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury: The Evidence Presented Clearly Shows by Barbara Vines Little.  Little discussed the different types of proof summaries, list-style and narrative-style.  She said that the narrative-style tends to make a more convincing argument, as you can include more details.  The main takeaways from this lecture were that it is not enough to say that a record does not exist, you need to tell where you have looked for it and that these proof summaries, particularly if you use the narrative-style, become your written family history.

After the workshop ended, I sat in the NGS home-study course round table.  I did not stay long as this was for a more basic level than I was looking for.  I do highly recommend this course for beginner and intermediate genealogists.

Later that night there was a blogger meet-up at Champs in the Hyatt.  It was great to meet new bloggers and discuss the lectures people had went to.  I also met Jennifer Holik who has recently written a group of books on engaging the next generation of genealogists, some of which have lesson plans for every age level.  I looked through these briefly and am very impressed.  I plan on reading them and reviewing them on my blog as soon as possible.

Thank you for the great time out, ladies!

FamilySearch Media/Bloggers Dinner

On Tuesday night FamilySearch sponsored a Media/Blogger dinner.  It’s not every day that you get to eat dinner with Paul Nauta of FamilySearch, the AncestryInsider, Leland Meitzler, Pam Schaffer, Sandra Benward and Denise & Scott Richmond (who I met on the Legacy Cruise in October).  I also met Ruth Blair, who shares my blogiversary and DearMyrtle said my business car was pretty (I can die happy now).

The main discussion was on the Community 1940 Census Project.  There are over 460 blog ambassadors for this program (including myself) and they are looking for more!  If you are interested and at the conference, there is a special offer where you can sign up and write a blog post and receive a very nice gift.

Over 101,000 people have volunteered as indexers and arbitrators, which is how 30% of the census has already been indexed.  This is likely the largest community indexing project and we can only hope to see more of these in the future.  Remember, if you index two batches while at the conference, you get a free t-shirt!

FamilySearch also told us that they have  collections from over 60 countries and over 1 billion indexed records.  I am most excited that they now have a contract with the Italian government to digitize and index for preservation purposes all civil records through 1940.  Having searched many of these records, I can say that having then online where you can zoom in and out and play with the coloring, will be tremendously helpful.

Thank you for such a wonderful experience FamilySearch!

BCG Education Fund Workshop

The BCG Education Fund sponsored a full-day pre-conference workshop at the NGS conference today.  There were two parts, Dr. Thomas W. Jones on “Editing Your Own and Others’ Genealogical Writing” and Melinde Lutz Byrne on “Editor’s Ink: Writing for Genealogical Journals.”

For the pre-lunch session, I attended Dr. Jones’ lecture.  “Polishing is the greatest part of writing” according to Dr. Jones, it is also the hardest part.  When you begin writing you can start with anything: key terms, a description of what you want to say or full sentences.  If you cannot come up with anything to write, you probably should not be writing.  It is where you go from here, all the polishing, that is the difficult part.

I was amazed that as an NGS Quarterly editor, Dr. Jones routinely cuts 25-50% of the words sent to him.  The main rules for publication, after having interesting and well-done research, is to be concise, choose simple words and have a logical sequence.

After lunch, I attended Melinde Lutz Byrnes’ lecture, where she told us that “writing is thought.”  I learned that most journals have guidelines online that can help you decide if your publication should be submitted.

Prior to the conference Ms. Byrnes sent us a pdf of a rough draft journal article.  At nearly 30 pages long, this article was eventually cut down to 7 pages.  Our directions were to read the footnotes first, then the article, then turn each of the 90 paragraphs into 1 sentence and write 1 sentence that gives the overall theme of the article.

This will be the way I read every article in the future.  The footnotes give so much more information on the author and what you are about to read than I ever imagined.  This is apparently a tip from a well-known, long-term (and un-named) editor.  When an article is dense or confusing, turning each paragraph into a concise sentence makes it easier to understand.

These workshops made me more interested expanding my writing.  I am looking forward to combing my research for interesting and unique case studies that can be submitted to genealogical journals.

Planning for the NGS Conference

A hoard of genealogists is descending upon Cincinnati today to attend the 2012 National Genealogical Society Conference.  In order to make the most of your time, it is important to pre-plan your conference, or at least the first day.  Luckily, NGS has made a multitude of tools available to help in this planning.

• Syllabus, Daily Schedule and Exhibitor Listing
• The syllabus and daily schedule of events are available as PDF files on the NGS website for conference attendees.  By going through these, you can decide which lectures you want to attend during each time period.  Important items to keep in mind:
• Is the speaker one you want to hear?
• Is the topic important to your current level and interests as a genealogist?
• Is the session being recorded?  If there are two sessions you are interested in and one is being records and the other isn’t, go to the one that isn’t and purchase the recording for the other.
• Is the syllabus specific or general?  If the syllabus gives you a lot of information on a topic, including references for further research, you can go to a session with a more general syllabus that does not provide the information you need
• Use exhibitor listing to make a list of “must see” booths.  By planning this now, you will make sure you do not go home having missed the one organization you wanted to see.
• Mobile App
• There is a mobile app available for every device.  Download this to look at daily news flashes, the daily schedule, maps, and even tweets and photos from the conference.  The best part of the app is the “My Schedule” piece where you can keep track of which sessions you are attending and where they are located.
• Tips for First Time Attendees, Conference FAQs and What to Expect 
• These documents will give you an overview of important information on the conference.
• Social Media
• Look at the social media policy if you plan on tweeting or blogging during the conference.  The conference hash tag is #ngs2012.  You can also view all of the official conference blogger’s posts through a  Google Reader Bundle created by Accessible Archives
Using these tools will help make your conference enjoyable and productive!