Just a reminder that the ACGS workshop featuring Peggy Clemens Lauritzen is October 26th. Pre-registration by October 19th gives a $5 discount on registration. Pre-registration-$15, $20 at the door. Info and registration form is on the ACGS website at: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohallcgs/ . Hope to see you there.
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I can't believe that it's almost the end of August and the FGS Conference is this week in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. It's been such a busy summer, I didn't get to give you as much information about it on here as I had planned. I hope that you've been reading some of the other FGS Ambassador's blogs and the FGS Conference blog. With so much about the conference online, everyone ought to be well-informed by now. I'll fill you in on my conference experiences and what i learn after it's ove. If you haven't registered, it's not too late. Registrations can be made at the door, however, the opportu nity for the pre-registration discount is over. I'll be working at the APG booth in the Exhibition Hall on Thursday from 12-1:45 and will be at the APG luncheon on Friday and the GSG/ISFHWE luncheon on Saturday. Stop and say hi. I'll be looking for you and hope you'll be looking for me. It's going to be great so don't miss it! Why should genealogists attend conferences? Many reasons, but here's my top ten list. 1. It's a great opportunity to learn. Genealogy is a field that you must continuously learn in order to improve your skills. 2. Variety. The lecture tracks provide a tremendous number of topics and number of lectures to choose from and attend. 3. The speakers are the cream of the crop. Not only will you have a great selection of lecture topics, the lectures will be presented by some of the best genealogists in the country. 4. Special workshops are available so that you can learn more about a particular topic than time allows for in a lecture. 5. Special events are held on the evening before the conference and each evening during the conference. These include social gatherings and local tours. 6. Special luncheons are held each day for those whose are members of national and professional genealogical organizations or interested in these organizations. In addition to a nice meal and an entertaining, informative speaker, the luncheons are a great place to network with other genealogists with similar interests. 7. The Exhibit Hall has vendors who sell everything you can imagine related to genealogy. You will find the latest books and sometimes, hard to find books, software, techie gadgets, such as portable scanners, and many other items. Demonstrations of software, techie tools, FamilySearch indexing, and using websites, such as Ancestry.com and Find My Past take place daily. National, state, and county genealogical societies will be there with their books for sale and information about their societies. DAR, the Mayflower Society and other lineage societies have booths where you can get information about these societies and joining them. Much more can be found in the Exhibit Hall than mentioned here. 8. A syllabus and booth to purchase or order tapes/CDs of all of the lectures are provided. You can't attend every lecture but you won't regret missing some when you have the syllabus and can purchase tapes or CDs of those you missed. 9. FGS 2013 is being held in Ft. Wayne where the second largest genealogical library in the country is right across the street from the convention center and the conference hotels. The Genealogical Center in the Allen County Library will be opened later each evening during the conference so that attendees can do research without missing any of the lectures and daytime activities. You'll want to plan your visit to the Genealogical Center before the conference to make sure that you can make the best of your research time. Their website has the catalog and much more information on it to help you be prepared for your visit. 10. Visiting old genie buddies, making new friends, meeting genealogists whose work you've admired, and just spending a few days with people who all have a common interest in genealogy is the greatest joy imaginable. I love going to conferences. I come home feeling relaxed like I've been on a vacation and with tons of new books, software, free brochures, or whatever I've gotten in the Exhibit Hall. I'm refreshed and ready to try out all of the new ideas I've learned and tackle those unfound and unsolved family mysteries. Hope to see you and talk to you there! I'm thankful for all of the people who have heard me speak and enjoyed my talks enough to invite me back or come and hear me speak again at other places.
Here's my next speaking engagement: April 28, 2013, 2:00 p.m. Van Wert Genealogical Society Brumback Library, Van Wert, Ohio Talking to the Dead To see my speaking schedule anytime, click on the speaking schedule tab on this website. Be sure to check it occasionally for updates if you plan to come to hear me present a program or workshop. Hope to see you there! *note: If you have heard me speak, please scroll down to the widget in the sidebar and click. Your feedback helps me to improve my programs and speaking. I appreciate your attendance and feedback. Thanks! I love going to genealogy conferences. I love to learn, especially about my favorite subject-genealogy. The great thing about going to lectures and workshops at a major conference, such as FGS 2013, is that you are learning from the best of the best. Looking at the list of speakers lined up for the FGS Conference is like looking at an edition of Who's Who. Elizabeth Shown Mills, Thomas W. Jones, John Philip Coletta, Mark J. Lowe and the list goes on. Just having any one of these top genealogists presenting lectures would be enough for me to be eager to go. Another reason I want to go to FGS 2013 is that they have special events for FGS delegates and a whole day devoted to providing information and ideas to help genealogical societies grow and succeed. As an FGS delegate for 7 years, a genealogical society officer for 13 years, and a society volunteer for 15 years, I'm looking forward to the Focus on Societies on Wednesday. In addition to learning from the cream of the crop, I love to go to the vendors' area. There you can find a huge selection of books, the latest software, and every product related to genealogy. An advantage of shopping in the vendors' area is that you get great bargains during the conference. Many of the vendors have special sale prices and there's no shipping and handling fees to pay as there are when you normally order this merchandise. I come home from every conference loaded down with goodies. Another neat thing is that if you buy a book at the conference, chances are that the author is one of the speakers and you can get your book autographed. I'm looking forward to going to FGS 2013 because it is a huge gathering of people who all love genealogy and family history. There are no strangers, just other genealogists who you haven't met yet. I love talking in person to people who I've only previously connected with online and meeting up with old friends and acquaintances who I rarely get to visit except at genealogical events. I'm also looking forward to going to FGS 2013 because it's in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Ft. Wayne is the ideal place to hold a conference or any other kind of genealogical event. I doubt if you need to ask why. Because the Genealogical Center in the Allen County Library is fabulous and it's right across the street for the conference center. The conference hotels are all in this area also. How much closer to perfect can it get? Hope you're going and hope to see you there! Are you ready for the FGS Conference? No? Well, no one else is, either but you should be preparing for it now. Some of the conference hotels are sold out and others are close to it. If you're coming from a distance and need to stay in a hotel or motel, you need to be checking the conference hotels to see whether they still have rooms and reserve a room now. FGS reserves blocks of rooms in the official conference hotels providing conference attendees a nice discount on their rooms. If you can't get into a conference hotel, then you need to be searching online and finding a local hotel or motel and book that room. According to the fact sheet on the FGS Conference 2013 website, they are expecting about 2,000 people attending the conference this year. I'll be discussing why in some of my posts. The conference offers so much and a great time is being planned for all who attend. The other top of the list item for your pre-trip plan is to get registered. You can register on online or download a registration form and register by mail. Your local genealogical society and library may have registration forms also. The FGS Conference 2013 website also gives information about the speakers, the lectures, and everything else that will be going on. You can download the FGS Conference 2013 brochure, which lists brief descriptions all of everything at the conference in more detail. If you are anything like me, you'll probably spend the greater part of an afternoon or evening just deciding what speakers and lectures you want to hear and what else you want to do while you're there. Now is the time to get these two vital steps taken. The earlier you book your room and get registered, the less it will cost you because you'll be able to get discounts on conference hotel rooms and probably many other local hotels and motels will be giving discounts for the conference attendees and you'll save $50 on your registration. I'll be telling you the details about as any of the conference events, speakers, lectures, and other events as I can so watch for my posts with the FGS Conference Ambassador logo. Click the logo in the post or on my sidebar to go to the FGS Conference 2013 website. I've just become an Ambassador for the 2013 FGS Conference that will be held August 21-24 at the Grand Wayne Convention Center, Ft. Wayne, Indiana. As an FGS Conference Ambassador, I'll be bringing you pre-conference information and news. During the conference, I'll let you know what's going on and afterwards, some of the highlights. I've been a strong supporter of the work that FGS does and highly recommend going to the conference if you can. If not, then perhaps, you can order CDs of some of the lectures that you'd have like to have attended. I've been the FGS Delegate for the Allen County Genealogical Society (Ohio) for the past 7 years and advocate support of FGS projects and that the Society take advantage of all of the great benefits provided by FGS for society management and growth. One of these benefits is the annual FGS Conference. The conference has a track, Focus on Societies, on Wednesday, August 21st, however, the conference is not just about managing a genealogical society nor is it just for FGS members. It is for all genealogists. There is something for everyone and I'll be sharing that info with you. Registration has already opened and you can register online at the FGS Conference website or by mail with a conference registration form. Make sure that you register before July 1, 2013 for a substantial discount. FGS has a special website for the conference, in additional to the regular FGS website. You can get a full description of the conference and register online there. There is also an official FGS Conference blog that will bring you the latest pre-conference news. You can sign up for the blog on the FGS Conference website. They are also on Facebook and Twitter. You can reach the FGS Conference website at anytime by clicking the logo in this post or in the sidebar of this blog. Stay tuned as I will be sharing more about the 2013 FGS Conference with you. Hope to see you there! Fort Piqua Plaza, Piqua, Ohio Yesterday was a great day. I was one of the speakers at the Miami County Genealogical Society's annual Routes to Roots workshop. Miami County always puts on a great workshop and I've attended many of them in the past so was thrilled to be invited to be one of their speakers. I was also excited because I've been a member of this society for quite a few years and was inducted into their Civil War Families of Miami County several years ago. My first lecture was about finding Civil War pension files and compiled service records and using them to find female ancestors. I use my Miami County Civil War ancestors to teach how to use these records to fill out your family tree. I'm not sure that they were aware of that fact when they chose which of my lectures they would like me to give, but the audience seemed pleased when I told them that Finding Eliza Jane's Family was created from my research on my Civil War family from Miami County. Later, in the day, I presented Talking to the Dead, which is the lecture my column in Going In-Depth digital magazine is based on. Apparently, my lectures went well, because they invited me back this summer to do another workshop for them! My only regret of the day was that I would have like to have attended Derek Davey's talk on the Genealogical Proof Standard, a topic that every genealogist needs a thorough understanding of. Derek and I, however, were scheduled to speak during the same sessions. Hopefully, I can catch his talk another time. I was able to attend a great talk on using Family Search given by Joseph Herr, the director of the LDS Family History Center in Chillicothe, Ohio and part of Debra Nowell's talk on DNA. My friends, Sara, Ray, and Linda went with me to the workshop. There was a small but nice vending area where several other genealogical societies displayed their publications for sale. Sara had a table with the Allen County Genealogical Society's books. Although, I missed Derek's lecture, I was able to visit with him when he went with my friends and me for lunch. We weren't familiar with the local restaurants but door prizes were being given throughout the day and Ray won a free lunch at Mulligan's Pub. Mulligan's Pub is conveniently located in the building where the workshop was so all we have to do is get in the elevator an go down to the first floor and we were there. Nice atmosphere, good food, and great service. The workshop was held at the beautiful Fort Piqua Plaza downtown Piqua, Ohio. Fort Piqua Plaza was originally a luxury hotel built in the 1800s. It had been abandoned and deteriorating until it was restored and reopened in 2008. It takes up a whole city block and now contains the Piqua Public Library, banquet and conference facilities, meeting rooms, restaurants, and shops. Mulligan's Pub is only one of the restaurants on the street level. Throughout the day, I talked to a number of people I knew from Miami County and other county genealogical societies and met a lot of other nice genealogists. The library was opened until 5:30 so we were able to explore their genealogy room and do a little research before we headed home. We stopped for supper on the way home at a favorite restaurant in Shelby County. Linda decided to take us home on an old state route rather than the interstate. The beautiful, sunny day ended with a spectacular sunset. The sun looked like a gigantic red ball with purple and blue and orangy-yellow streaks across the sky on either side of it. We discovered a couple of tiny, really old rural cemeteries and decided that we're going back one day when we weren't so tired and check them out. We'll photograph them and put them on Find A Grave if they aren't already on there. I'm whooped today but yesterday was my idea of a perfect Saturday. I'm not a morning person but I'd get up anytime at 5 a.m. to have a great time like I had going to the Miami County Genealogical Society's Routes to Roots workshop. Just a reminder that the annual Routes for Roots workshop of the Miami County Chapter, O. G. S. will be held on March 23, 2013, in Piqua, Ohio. I've attended their workshops many times over the years and am honored to have been asked this year to one of the speakers. Miami County always presents a great workshop. Information on the topics, speakers, and the registration form can be found on the Miami County Chapter, O. G. S. website. If you are in reasonable driving distance from Piqua, I hope to see you there!
Don't you love Family History Month? Every October, there are always so many exciting genealogical events going on all over the country. My calendar was full all month. I spoke at 3 county genealogical societies and will be wrapping the month up this Sunday when I speak for the Mercer County (Ohio) Genealogical Society. Actually, Sunday is November 4 but it is the weekend of the week ending the month of October. I will be presenting Talking to the Dead, my lecture on death records. Not just death certificates and obits, but 89 resources created by a person's death. I did this same program last Sunday for the Allen County (Ohio) Genealogical Society. On October 10th, I talked about So You Want to do Your Family History? to beginners at the Delphos (Ohio) Public Library. The Shelby County (Ohio) Genealogical Society had me as their speaker on October 16th where I told them about Uncle Sam's Records, which is an overview on researching military ancestors. In addition to speaking every week, I've managed to make it to 3 seminars. The first one was October 6th put on by the Allen County (Ohio) Genealogical Society. I was the chairperson so was kept hopping at this one. The theme was Native American Photo taken by Sara Crump, a Find A Ancestry presented by Snowflower. If anyone is trying to trace Grave volunteer, October 6, 2012 their Native American ancestry, especially if your ancestor hid and did not go to the reservations, this is the person you want helping you. She is the leading expert in the field and always willing to help anyone. I can connect you with her if you need some help in this type of research. After the seminar, my friends and I took Snowflower, her husband, and her assistant, Bluecorn Woman out for dinner and then went to Shawnee Cemetery just outside of Lima, Ohio. At the cemetery, we showed them the memorial for Chief Pe-Aitch-Ta or PHT as he is better known. PHT was the last chief of the Shawnee Indians in Allen County, Ohio during the time when they were removed to the reservations in Kansas. He is believed to have been buried in his garden next to his cabin, which would mean that he is actually buried under the road in front of the cemetery. No one knows for sure where his burial place is, only the location of his cabin. The next Saturday, the Latter Day Saints Family History Center in Lima, Ohio put on their first ever seminar. It was fabulous. All day, LDS volunteers were teaching sessions to attendees on how to index for Family Search. It is so easy! I'm going to try my hand as a volunteer indexer when I finish my current projects and recommend it to anyone who would like to give back to the genealogical community. Indexing for Family Search is a great way to help preserve the old records and to get them online for everyone to use. Several speakers presented a variety of topics, including Karen Miller Bennett, CG, Karen Jones of the Family History Center, and national speaker, Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG. Needless, to say, the quality of the speakers and programs surpassed expectations for a small, local seminar. The highlight of my day was getting to talk and become acquainted with Peggy Clemens Lauritzen. So often at the big conferences, you don't get a chance to speak to the speakers except to ask a question and it was really nice to be able to get acquainted with a speaker whose lectures I've admired. This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of hearing "Miss Peggy" again all day! The Darke County (Ohio) Genealogical Society presented her as their featured speaker for their annual seminar at the Garst Museum in Greenville, Ohio. As usual, her topics were informative and sprinkled with her great sense of humor. What a wonderful finale for Family History Month. |
Rambling Along the Ancestral Trail
******************** AuthorDeborah A. Carder Mayes is a genealogist, speaker, and writer in Ohio and Eastern Indiana. She has been researching her family history and actively involved in the genealogy community since 1998. SUBCRIBE
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Rambling Along the Ancestral Trail by Deborah A. Carder Mayes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Copyright © 2024 Deborah A. Carder Mayes
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Rambling Along the Ancestral Trail
Ramblings about my family history and tidbits about genealogy