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Article
NGS Conference in Review:
It Was Great to See You
There!
by Paula Stuart Warren
I
enjoyed seeing you a couple of weeks ago at the National
Genealogical Society's "Conference in the
States," which was held in beautiful Sacramento, California.
Wasn't that a great convention center? I really enjoyed
the speakers, the meals, and the vendor hall. Oh, and
the networking. The tips I got from fellow genealogists
filled several pages in my notebook. Good genealogists
never stop learning.
The two annual national-level genealogy conferences
in the U.S. are such great events. We all keep going
from the morning into the evening at these so we won't
miss anything. Are you as tired as I am after NGS Sacramento?
Ah, but I wouldn't give up those four days, would you?
What's that you say? You weren't at the NGS conference
in Sacramento? You missed the sightings of Arnold's
limo as reported by one registrant. (If you don't know
who the Arnold in Sacramento is, you are spending way
too much time on genealogy at your computer.) I have
been in Sacramento twice this spring and thoroughly
enjoyed both visits, even though both were working
trips. The weather for the conference was perfect.
You missed four days packed full of lectures from
knowledgeable speakers from around the U.S. and other
countries. You missed the syllabus that contained lecture
handouts from most speakers. You missed the opportunity
to ask questions of the experts in a variety of topics.
Members of the Genealogical Speakers Guild provided
the introductions for many of the speakers. More lectures
than ever before at such a conference utilized Power
Point for the visual part of the presentation.
The lectures covered a wide range of topics including
land records, New England research, Virginia research,
maps, the California Gold Rush, researching German
ancestry, online research, timelines, family health
history, and railroad records, just to name a few.
The lecture halls were nice and roomy. Some of them
even had tables for the audience--this made taking
notes easier. There often isn't room in the lecture
halls for tables, so this was a pleasant treat.
There
was the usual "this room is too cool" followed
by the next person saying the same room "is way too
warm." That's why you should bring a light sweater
or jacket so that you are comfortable.
If you weren't there, you missed the fun of meeting
fellow genealogists and of getting reacquainted with
someone you met at a conference a few years ago. The
hugs and handshakes at these conferences are a definite
plus.
You missed the desserts at the conference meal functions.
The chocolate variations got rave reviews. I know one
person who didn't eat much of her meal so that she
could eat the dessert and not feel guilty. I attended
three meal events and thoroughly enjoyed the conversations
among my tablemates and, of course, the after-meal
speakers were great. At the meal events, you often
are seated with several people you never met before
and, yes, the conversation topic is usually genealogy.
The food was really good in the host hotel restaurant.
You missed aisle after aisle of genealogical vendors
selling and displaying books, software, hardware, pins,
photos, maps, and much more. You missed the demonstrations
of both new and well-seasoned genealogical software.
Vendors came from all across the U.S. and also from
some other countries. I saw some genealogists with
armfuls of purchases. One woman told me she was going
to buy an extra plane ticket just for her purchases!
Repeat Performance (www.audiotapes.com)
was there to audiotape most of the lectures. Check
their online catalog for these and other tapes of genealogical
lectures. The lines were steady at this booth as registrants
bought tapes of lectures they didn't attend or those
they knew they wanted to hear again. There were nice
announcements of various vendors sponsoring authors
signing books they had written. If you have already
purchased a book, you can bring it along to the conferences
and ask the author to sign it for you.
Oh, there were a few glitches. The pre-printed nametags
for the registrants somehow got lost in a warehouse
in Virginia. There were a few occasional audio-visual
glitches. Spring allergies were in full-force and more
than one speaker had a touch of laryngitis. What would
a conference be without a glitch or two? Judging from
the number of registrants still eagerly learning on
Saturday afternoon, I would say the glitches didn't
impede the enjoyment.
A lot of people who traveled a distance arrived a
day or two before the conference began. Some came for
society and organization meetings; others came to research
at the state archives or state library. I used part
of the day before the conference to do some research
in the California History Room at the State Library.
First, I walked through the beautiful rose gardens
on the Capitol grounds. (No, I didn't see Arnold.)
I overheard one woman talking about taking one of the
tours around the area and how much she had enjoyed
that.
There were volunteers everywhere as folks from genealogical
societies in the Sacramento area and elsewhere helped
us find our way, get registered, and find a seat. They
helped those with wheelchairs and scooters find the
elevators. As a speaker, I was grateful for the volunteers
who made sure I had water and that the lights were
at the level I needed.
Now, if you weren't there, don't you wish you were?
You missed learning, chocolate, friendliness, chocolate,
books, software, chocolate, and some other things.
If you were there, I hope you have already started
to use some of the knowledge you gained, have listened
to the audiotapes you bought, and installed that new
software.
For those of you who weren't there, you still have
one more such conference in the U.S. this year. I will
see you at the four-day Federation of Genealogical
Societies' annual conference this coming 8-11 September.
The conference will be in Austin, Texas--home of many
excellent research facilities. The 70+ speakers will
present something for everyone. For full details check
the FGS website (www.fgs.org).
There are also other multi-day genealogical conferences
held in many states ands countries.
Paula Stuart Warren, CGRS, is a professional genealogist,
consultant, writer, and lecturer. She has lectured
all across the U.S. and is a coordinator of the Intermediate
Course, American Records and Research at the annual
Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. She is co-author
of Your Guide to the Family History Library: How
to Access the World's Largest Genealogy Resource, and
a contributor to genealogical periodicals including Ancestry Magazine.
She is a resident of St. Paul, Minnesota and spends
many weeks each year on the road at the Family History
Library and at the U.S. National Archives. Her roots
include ancestors from seven different countries and
researching them has given her broad experience and
an occasional headache or two. Contact her at PSWResearch@comcast.net. Copyright
2004, MyFamily.com.
All
rights reserved.
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Ancestry Quick Tip Jamboree
It's time for this week's Ancestry Quick Tip Jamboree!
Thanks to everyone who has sent in a Quick Tip. Please
keep them coming so that we can keep this tradition
going. You can send your tips 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.
The Ancestry
Daily News is continuing the Memorial Day holiday
through today's Quick Tip Jamboree with another
selection of military-related tips. Have a great day!
Juliana
Service with the YMCA
My great grandfather served with the YMCA and Army
during WWI. I attempted to locate his records through
the usual channels only to find that his were among
those destroyed in the 1973 (or thereabouts) fire at
NARA. My father has a wonderful photo of him in his
YMCA uniform and Dad's cousin has a notebook where
their grandfather detailed the dates and locations
of his travels.
I got on the Internet and looked up the various camps
and YMCA and WWI in different combinations. I copied
some of the information I located and old pictures
of the various camps. I put all this in a WordPerfect
document since I am most familiar with that program.
I found some very interesting things such as the fact
that the YMCA was responsible for soldier mail delivery
during WWI, as well as many other duties now handled
strictly by the military. It was a wonderful education
and I now have a tidy little package to share with
family members. I can't recreate records that no longer
exist but it is nice to leave a more detailed picture
of my great grandfather's life and times for the next
generation.
Karen Williams
To
read the rest of today's Quick Tip Jamboree, click
here.
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