Tracking Your Ancestors at Great Wolf Lodge.

The time is almost here for the annual Ohio Genealogical Society Conference. This year the event will be held at Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio, on 28-30 April 2016 with per-conference workshops on Wednesday, April 27. Remember to register by April 18.

I went back through some of my original posts about attending a conference in the Cincinnati area. Since this is the land of many of my ancestors, I have spent a lot time in Clermont and Hamilton Counties. There are so many tips that I can not include all of them. I would suggest you go back to the beginning of this blog when I attended my first NGS Conference in Cinci. 

Take a trip along the Ohio River on Route 52. It is a beautiful drive and the view of Kentucky is breath taking. Since it is a fairly long drive, you might want to add another day to your trip, but it will be worth it.

Kroger Fuel Points save gas money. Another $$ saving tip is share a room or transportation. Bring your own drinks, snacks, breakfast. Especially breakfast - it saves a lot of time in the morning. See exhibit hall $$ tips below.

You are going to walk a lot.  Wear comfortable shoes and clothing. This is not a runway fashion show. Rest, pace yourself. You will get tired. Wear your fit bit and chalk up the steps! 

Don't forget that cellphone.  Turn if off in the lecture room unless you like to call attention to yourself. Don't take pictures with it. What is on the screen belongs to the speaker. 

Expressway traffic in Cincinnati can be crazy. NASCAR comes to mind. 

Good Morning Cincinnati! Channel 12. Bob Herzog. Unfortunately due to time and expense Dance Party  Friday is not a weekly thing any more. However, you might want to check this out just in case. If conference is not a good time to catch Bob singing the weather, you can still watch Just Don't Go on you tube. It is the famous musical advice for bad weather in Cinci.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWw0WEtZJRQ

Exhibit Hall. This is the place where you will be encouraged to spend a lot of $$$! My advice is - don't buy anything during your first trip to the exhibit hall. Instead make a wish list. And leave. This will prevent compulsive buying. Go over your list in the safety of your room and select what you really need. Go back to the hall with a shopping list and just buy what is on the list. 

Conference Overload. This is what happens when you don't follow the exhibit hall advice above. Elevators stop between floors at genealogy conferences. The main reason is genealogists with books. Too many books! I've been there; I have even caused it to happen. It can be embarrassing. Another result of conference overload is multiple trips to your car when you are packing to go home. That could also involve an elevator emergency. 

Experience Cincinnati  cuisine. Try the chili. Dive into some Graeter's ice cream, and definitely get a bag of those little bombs of indigestion, White Castle. Just don't do it all on the same day. 

And remember, especially if this is your first conference. Learn. Network. Shop. Have fun!! 

 

Plan a Road Trip!!

My Aunt Daisy made sure that her family knew the importance of family history. When I was a little girl I looked at my aunt as someone who had been alive forever and personally knew all of her ancestors. She had an attic and a barn full of really neat stuff and it all belonged to my ancestors.

The greatest thing about my aunt was that she took time to make sure that all of her family knew the story of their ancestors. She didn't just do a lot of research and pass it on to whoever wanted to read it. No! She made sure that everyone in her family wanted to absorb it. And treasure it. And make it a part of their lives. And they did.

She did not worry about what repository she was going to donate her research to when she passed away. She knew that she had laid the foundation of genealogy within her family and it would carry on from there. Granted some of the larger items in the attic and barn went to museums, but the smaller items were distributed among the family members. And because they knew their family history, these pieces of jewelry, silverware, linens, dinnerware had meaning for the person who now was allowed the privilege of owning them. It was a privilege for me to own a pin from the Civil War era that belonged to my great, great grandmother. I knew who she was. She had sons who fought for the Union in the Civil War. But she was born in Kentucky and also had family in the Confederacy.

So how do you keep your research from being stored in the stacks of a local library? You show your family their roots.

Last week my granddaughter and I visited Germany. We never left my kitchen. We did it all online. Who's idea was it? It was Chrisi's. She asked me what Tennessee was like and I told her to just "Google" Nashville. After she took a tour of Nashville, she decided that since she has strong German roots on both sides of her family, she wanted to see Germany. So we did. Online!

Of course, Chrisi has already been exposed to her roots in Kentucky and southern Ohio. She and her older sister, Tabi, have "walked the ground" where their ancestors have walked. They have stood on the banks of the Ohio River. The river their ancestors crossed when they left Kentucky and came to Ohio.

I am seeing so many lectures lately about "what to do with your research". Let's quit worrying about that and get those grandkids, nieces and nephews out there in those cemeteries, at those old homesteads, in the small towns, on the banks of the rivers where our ancestors "wrote" our family stories. 

Summer is almost here. School is almost out. Plan a road trip with the kids!!

A Beautiful View of Ohio and Kentucky

When I go back to my roots in Clermont and Brown Counties in Ohio there is one place I always visit -- the ferry to Augusta, Kentucky. My Kentucky Perkins eventually became my Ohio Perkins. I think the ferry had a lot to do with that!

If you will be attending the NGS Conference in May (see events for information), I highly recommend a trip along the Ohio River on Route 52. The ferry to Augusta is about 43 miles east of Cincinnati and well worth the trip. There has been a ferry of some sort at this location since 1798. I took my first ride on this ferry over fifty years ago when I was a teenager and  it never gets old! Better than any ride at Disney World. It runs seven days a week from 8am til 8pm. The cost is $5 per car. People on foot ride free as long as there is at least one car making the trip. The ferry does not run on a set schedule, just park and wait! There is an on-board phone (606-756-3291) if you are impatient or running out of time. It is such a beautiful view though, I would just wait patiently and enjoy the view of Kentucky and the Ohio River. By the way the view out in the middle of the Ohio River is spectacular! I think it is the closest I have ever felt to my ancestors from southern Ohio.

Augusta, Kentucky is a fascinating river town only a couple of years older than the ferry. Part of the TV mini-series, Centennial (1978), was filmed there. Augusta played the role of St. Louis, Missouri!! It is also the hometown of George Clooney! You really should make sure you have enough time for sightseeing. Augusta has a great website. .augustaky.com/tourism/

If you take your car over to Augusta,  you might want to think about making the trip to Maysville, Kentucky, only about 20 miles to the east on Route 8. My Perkins and Rice ancestors lived here after the Revolutionary War. From here you can cross the bridge back into Ohio and head west toward Ripley, Ohio, a wonderful little village on the river. The Rankin House, a famous stop on the Underground Railroad, sits high on a hill overlooking Ripley and the Ohio River. You can see forever from the view on top of Liberty Hill and the house should be open in May.

** After I wrote this, I realized that this trip might merit a whole day and you might want to add another day to your conference trip. So you need to throw some stuff on ebay or have a garage sale. After all it is time to get out last year's summer clothes. I have always said that a possible genealogy trip can really help get rid of those vintage clothes in your closet that don't fit any more. Think positive!! Think ancestors!! Downsize!!