Along Those Lines . . .
The 2005 FGS Conference in Salt Lake City
(or Don't go to the Family History Library!)
by George G. Morgan

In just a little over a month, genealogists from all over the world will be converging on Salt Lake City, Utah, for the annual Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference. Sponsored by the Utah Genealogical Society, the FGS Conference is one of the highlights of the genealogical calendar in the United States. This year's FGS Conference will be held on 7-10 September 2005 in Salt Lake City, home of the venerable Family History Library and other magnificent sights and experiences.

As with other FGS Conferences, though, this one is no exception to its predecessors; it will be an extraordinary conference you won't want to miss! If you haven't considered attending this conference, please visit the FGS Web site (http://www.fgs.org) to view the outstanding conference program, the list of internationally recognized speakers, the list of luncheon and dinner banquets, and the exciting list of vendors and exhibitors. It's not too late to register for the conference, either for the full run or for a single day.

In "Along Those Lines . . ." this week, I want to tell you that I don't think any conference attendee should visit the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. You say, "What is George saying?!!" Well, the FGS Conference is just so chock full of great experiences that I'm certain that the library will be a great disappointment to just everyone. I'll tell you why later. In the meantime, let me tell you the reasons why you're going to want to stay put at the conference venue.

Mesmerizing and Informative Speakers
The FGS Conference this year features a whopping 102 scheduled speakers! Each and every one has the knowledge and insight into his or her topic(s) to help you learn something that certainly will benefit your genealogical research. The speakers represent all areas of genealogical research methodologies, international geographical and ethnic research resources and techniques, and a host of libraries and archives. The amount of knowledge and presentation talent at this conference should have you riveted to the lecture seats. Can the librarians at the Family History Library teach you as much?

Dynamic Sessions
The FGS Conference schedule contains 196 lecture sessions and meal events, each of which contains a presentation by one or more of the 102 speakers. You can choose from sessions about research methods and techniques, domestic and foreign research, different record types and the repositories where they can be found, heritage and credentialing organizations, military research, the use of genetics in genealogical research, and scores of other topical areas. You will find something to attend in each of the lecture time slots and at each of the luncheons and dinners and these will keep your scheduled filled. You'll have neither the time nor the energy to venture to the Family History Library.

If you come to Salt Lake City on Monday, you're sure to want to register for the Association of Professional Genealogists' Professional Management Conference. You don't have to be a member to register, and you will always learn a lot from the professional researchers who present how they approach research and a genealogical business.

Sumptuous Meals and Banquet Speakers
If you've never attended a luncheon or dinner at a national conference, you don't know what you're missing! The menu choices are always carefully chosen and delicious--especially the desserts. The speakers are both informative and entertaining, and there really is something at lunchtime and dinnertime for everyone. One of the highlights will, of course, be the FGS Banquet on Friday evening, 9 September, when FGS President Wendy Bebout Elliott will present a number of special awards, and at which speaker and master storyteller Stephani Raff will help you catch the vision of what storytelling can do to liven up your family tree by experiencing the energy and power of well-crafted family tales. This promises to be a magical evening!

Exciting Exhibits
The exhibit hall at the conference will fill your time before, between, and after the riveting lectures and meals you attend. More than 100 vendors have signed up to exhibit. There are exhibitors from all over the United States and Canada, and from as far away as Germany, Ireland, and Sweden! They represent publishers, booksellers, genealogy supplies and clothing vendors, software companies, map sellers, photographic restoration services, genealogical and historical societies, heritage and lineage societies, and other types of products and services.

I always enjoy working my way through the entire exhibit hall, stopping at every booth to discuss genealogy and to pick the brains of the exhibitors. The publishers and booksellers naturally cannot bring their entire inventory with them, especially books and other printed materials. However, I have often discussed with a vendor a special type of resource I'm looking for and frequently have found that the vendor has just that item back home. Bonanza!

In addition, talk to the genealogical societies, heritage and historical societies, and the credentialing societies about their activities. If you're interested in writing a family history or a column, in print or online, or are interested in publishing, check out the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE) booth. If you or your society is looking for a speaker, or if you personally want to develop your own genealogical speaking and presentation skills, visit the Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG) booth next to ISFHWE. Software vendors will demonstrate their products and discuss tips and tricks to maximize your use of them. Ancestor Detective, MyFamily.com, RootsMagic, GenSmarts, Gold Bug/Animap, and more software developers and sellers will be there to help you find just the right products to accelerate and hone your research.

No Time for the Library!
Whew! Now do you understand why I say that the FGS Conference is going to keep you busy 100% of the time you are in Salt Lake City? With all that in mind, be sure to visit the FGS Web site today (http://www.fgs.org) and register for this great conference.

In the meantime, don't even think of going to the Family History Library there! And just why do you think I'd even say that? Well, that's an easy answer--I WANT IT ALL TO MYSELF!

I hope to meet you at the FGS Conference in Salt Lake City in September.

Happy Conferencing!
George

George is president and a proud member of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors, a director of the Genealogical Speakers Guild, a director of the
Florida Genealogical Society (Tampa), a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Society of Genealogists (U.K.), and of more than twenty genealogical societies in the U.S. and around the world.

Visit George's website for information about speaking engagements.

Copyright 2005, MyFamily.com. All rights reserved.

Access a printer-friendly version of this article, e-mail it to a friend, or submit your feedback.

Ancestry Quick Tip
A Mother's Voice
by Joyce Ferguson

Momma kept all her old black and white pictures in a box. I didn't know who the photographs were, so one day while visiting my Momma I sat down with her and asked her to identify the pictures. One at a time she told me who was in each picture and bits of information about the past. As she talked I noted their names on the back of each photograph.

A few years later I asked my Momma to sit down with me and tell me stories about her family and her past. I turned on my tape recorder and she began to talk. She had a French accent that I loved. She told me stories about how she chauffeured her daddy around in the old Model-T on the plantation. She gave me names, dates, and descriptions as she talked about the past as if it were yesterday. She told me little stories about relatives that only I know and am able to pass on. Things like the fact that my great-grandfather had curly hair and penetrating blue eyes. He would get up and ride a horse on the plantation everyday but his wife would have to saddle the horse for him.

We laughed while recording the tape. My brother and his son came over while we were recording and they joined in asking questions and laughing as Momma filled us in on her childhood memories. My two-year-old sat on the floor with my nephew who asked his Grandma important questions like, "Maw Maw, how many cows did y'all have on the plantation?" It was a good day.

Years have passed and my Momma and brother have passed away. My son is now twenty-five and my nephew is thirty. I still have the tape we made that day. I can listen to my Momma talk with her French accent even now. I did have to remake the tape since time seems to have worn the tape down. But, I do have something important to me from my past that I can give to other family members so they can know their grandma, her voice and listen to the stories I us to here her tell as we sat around her rocking chair when I was a child.

Thanks to our Joyce for today's Quick Tip! If you have a tip you would like to share with researchers, you can send it to: ADNeditor@ancestry.com

Quick Tips may be reprinted, with credit to the submitter, in other Ancestry publications, so if you do not want your tip included in a publication other than the Ancestry Daily News and Ancestry Weekly Digest, please state so clearly in your message.

Access a printer-friendly version of this article, e-mail it to a friend, or submit your feedback.

Clipping of the Day
German Immigration
New York Herald (New York, New York), 04 August 1870, page 7:

Its Decrease and Its Probable Cessation

The directors of the German Immigrant Society held a meeting at their office in Broadway yesterday afternoon, when Mr. Bissinger presided, and some interesting facts about German immigration were furnished. During the present month, 7,871 Germans were landed at this port, who arrived in forty-five vessels, principally from Bremen and Hamburg. This is a decrease of 2,854 as compared with the corresponding period of last year. German immigration to this country, it is considered, will be suspended for some time. The German society, during the past month, expended nearly $500 in aid of German immigrants, and a similar amount was appropriated to be used in the same manner during the present month.

Subscribers with access to the Historical Newspapers Collection can view this clipping.

Subscribe to the Historical Newspapers Collection at Ancestry.com.

Fast Fact
Upcoming Online Genealogy Classes at MyFamily.com

For $29.95 (unless otherwise marked), each class includes:

• Four weeks of lessons and interaction with a genealogy expert.
• 30-day free access to applicable Ancestry.com collections. (For details on which collections will be available, see the individual class descriptions.)
• Tips and advice on how to find ancestors online.
• Lessons through site interaction and worksheets.
• Ability to create your family tree using Online Family Tree software and downloadable genealogy forms.
• Collaboration with other site members to grow your family tree over the course of a year.

To learn more about these classes, see George G. Morgan's article from the 11 July 2003 Ancestry Daily News.

Upcoming Classes

• Writing My Family History/Newsletter Class
  11 August 2005 with Cindy Rowzee
• Northeastern United States Research Class
  11 August 2005 with Cindy Rowzee
• Genealogical Research on the Internet
  18 August 2005 with George G. Morgan
• Adoption Investigative Course ($199.95)
  18 August 2005 with Linda Rakita

More Classes

• English Research, 25 August 2005
• Basic Slovak Genealogy Research Class, 25 August 2005
• United States Great Lakes Region Class, 25 August 2005
• Eastern Europe Basic Research Class, 01 Sept. 2005
• Jewish Basic Research Class, 01 Sept. 2005
• Intermediate Genealogy Research Class, 08 Sept. 2005
• World Census Records Class, 08 Sept. 2005
• German Basic Genealogy Research Class, 15 Sept. 2005
• Immigration and Naturalization Class, 15 Sept. 2005
• Native American Research Class, 22 Sept. 2005
• Lost Loves, Family, Friends, Military, 22 Sept. 2005 ($199.95)

Click here for the complete list with links. Click here for investigative courses.

Product Spotlight
U.S. Catholic Sources and The Ancestry Family Historian's Address Book

		How To Do Everything With Your Genealogy, by George G. Morgan Normally this book retails for $24.99, but today you can buy it in the Shops@Ancestry.com for $23.99.
		Your Family Reunion: How To Plan It, Organize It, and Enjoy It, by George G. Morgan Normally this book retails for $16.95, but today you can buy it in the Shops@Ancestry.com for $12.95.

Thought for Today
Ralph Blum

Nothing is predestined: The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.