September 10, 2017

#FGS2017 Day 4—Last sessions and Winding Down

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I got out bright and early Saturday morning for Tim Pinnick’s packed and very informative presentation on newspapers which introduced me to Kenneth R. Mark’s The Ancestor Hunt. Which, of course, just made me want to go back to wandering newspaper archives.

I also enjoyed presentations by Wevonneda Minis on Asylum records and one by Janice Lovelace on Railroad records. And I closed out the conference by attending Diahan Southard’s “YDNA and atDNA” program which had a case study that mirrors a possible “non-paternal event” we may have identified in my family.

Again, I learned a lot at the conference, met new people and/or finally had time to talk to people I’d barely met before. I also felt reinvigorated with ideas to take back to my home societies that I’m hoping can be worked into our long-range plans.

If you get a chance, try a national genealogy conference like NGC 2018 in Grand Rapids or FGS 2018 in Fort Wayne. Hotels for both are already open!

Happy hunting,

Jess

 

September 8, 2017

#FGS2017 Day 3—Pulled in Different Directions

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What do you do when your ancestors are pulling you in different directions?

Grandmothers

Sarah E. Morningstar Porter & Elnora York Trotter

On Friday, I found myself going back and forth between African American research topics and German (and German-American) research presentations attending presentations on African American Apprenticeships, Black Laws in the North, Freedmen’s Bureau Labor Contracts, German Church records and Germanic Origins of German-speaking immigrants.  And I, of course, now want to run off in five totally different directions in my research.

 

Some of the speakers were ones I’ve seen before and enjoyed (Thank you, Michael D. Lacopo, James M. Beidler and Judy G. Russell!) and the others were new to me but had fun and knowledgeable voices. Wevonneda Minis presented the James Dent Memorial Lecture: Freedmen’s Bureau Labor Contracts—which gave me a better background in the period and new ideas of record sets to look for. Ari Wilkins delivered two fascinating presentations—on Plantation records and Apprenticeships—that were very informative with great case studies.

It was a fun day capped with a dinner gathering of the Michigan researchers and friends.

Happy hunting,

Jess

 

September 4, 2017

Back in the Real World after #FGS2017

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I’ll be posting highlights from my expereiences from FGS this week but I’m going to start a little backwards with my thank yous today…

tothereal

The walkway to the dock under the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Yesterday I bid farewell to Pittsburgh after a four days chock-full of genealogy and it feels a little like I’m coming out of the light and being dumped back in the real world. I enjoy conferences as a chance to meet people, to learn new research techniques and records sources, and to just commiserate with and support people in our shared obsession. Many thanks to all the people I chatted with between classes—especially my Michigan and Indiana friends. You all were the reason this was such a fun week and I hope to see you in Fort Wayne next year.

Happy hunting!

Jess