Day Two at the OGS Conference

Friday, April 26, looks like it will be a full day of activities at the OGS Conference with 42 sessions, 2 lineage society evens and 2 roundtable discussions.  

In addition to the three regional sessions on Thursday, there will be six more on Friday. This will be followed by a Roundtable Q & A at 5:45pm. The experts will be from Southern Ohio and surrounding states. Looks like regional is southern Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania and even Michigan. Don't know why West Virginia isn't included since for my family it was a stopping off point on the way to southern Ohio.

Also on Friday you will be able to pick up two more DNA sessions at 3:00pm and 4:30pm. Don't ignore these. I would recommend that you attend at least one of the DNA sessions. I do know DNA testing is a little $$$$ and you might have to budget this into your genealogy wish list, but it could break through that brick wall for you.


Friday completes the last of the nine German sessions that began on Thursday. Apparently nothing says German like Cincinnati and northern Kentucky. Seriously if you have ancestors from the Cinci area, some of them will be German.

There will be a track of African American research sessions on Friday plus a roundtable discussion at 5:45pm. If you walk any of the ground from Cincinnati to Ripley, Ohio you have a good chance of having walked in the footsteps of abolitionists and runaway slaves. For more information on the Underground Railroad Museum see Tuesday, April 24, 2012 post. I will also post more about the Abolitionist Movement in the Cinci area as we get closer to the conference. 

Lineage societies. The Settlers and Builders Luncheon will be held at 12:15pm on Friday. No speaker has been noted, but comfort food is on the menu. We are talking meatloaf, mashed potatoes. and gravy. Who cares about the rest of the menu? Cost $35.

The Civil War Families Banquet will be held at 7:00pm with Kevin "Rufus" Guy speaking about letters from the battlefield. This menu is pork chops, banana potatoes, vegies, carrot cake. cost $35.

For chapter officers there will be an OGS Officers meeting at 4:30pm. 

Next: Saturday's highlights plus all the tech session who's who.

Thumbs Up to FGS

Thumbs up to the Federation of Genealogical Societies for providing a link on their website to a gift card that could be downloaded and used to give the gift of genealogy to a friend or family member. You add a note and some money to cover the cost of registration or perhaps a dinner at the conference. What a great idea. The inside of the card says "Holidays bring thoughts of family, in the present and the past. Doing genealogy will make the memories last."

OGS Conference Set for April 25-27, 2013

The Ohio Genealogical Society 2013 Registration Booklet is now available on line at http://ogs.org . The conference this year is in downtown Cincinnati at the Millennium Hotel. Expanding Your Ancestry Through Technology is the conference theme, but don't worry -- if you managed to build your bridge to the 21st Century but are still using it to cross back and forth (like me) there are plenty of other topics and activities to enjoy at this event. However, I wouldn't dismiss the tech sessions because you might find something new you didn't know you needed!

The Millennium Hotel has a block of rooms set aside at the price of $99 per night + tax. The OGS code for reservations is 1304OHGENE. If you attended the NGS Conference last May, you may remember the hotel is located across from the Duke Energy Center. It is located within walking distance of the Banks, a must see area on the Ohio River. Parking at the conference hotel is $18 a day. There are also several parking lots and garages in the immediate area. Cincinnati's Skywalk System connects many of the hotels and garages in the area.

Early registration runs until March 15 with the full conference rate being $155 for members and $200 for non-members. After that it is $180 and $225. There are also two day rates and one day rates. Event meals are separate and range from $25 to $35. A printed syllabus is $20; flash drive syllabus - $7. Cenference pins are $5.

I will be blogging throughout the entire conference this year with updates on last minute changes, traffic, weather, and freebees in the Exhibit Hall.

This year's conference chairmen, in my opinion, have done a fantastic job planning this event. There is a little bit of everything and something for  everybody. The conference will open on Thursday at 11:00am with keynote speaker, Thomas W Jones who will present 9 ways to find those "unfindable" ancestors. After the opening session. the Exhibit Hall opens at 12:30pm and at 2pm the first of Thursday's 21 sessions begin.

In addition to the 9 technology sessions, there will be a block of DNA sessions beginning at 2pm and ending with a roundtable Q & A session at 6:15pm. The BCG and the APG will hold 3 sessions for those genealogists who want to take their expertise to a higher level.

Also there will be a Lock-In at the Cincinnati Public Library from 6:15pm to 11:30pom. There is no transportation for this event. The library is within walking distance and the downtown area is relatively safe. However, I would not recommend making the trip alone.  

The first of the lineage society banquets, Century Families of Ohio, will be held at 7pm on Friday. The speaker will be J. Mark Lowe. Cost of the dinner is $35 for roast chicken, salad, rolls, and desert.

A genealogy conference is a great time to meet other family researchers, exchange ideas, and possibly find a few new cousins. With this in mind there will be a Social Media Gathering at 6:15pm on Friday.

If you would like to read more about Cincinnati and some conference money- saving tips, please see earlier posts from April and May 2012.

Next: We will take a look at what Friday has to offer at the OGS Conference. 

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone got lots of genealogy goodies for Christmas. And hopefully everyone has been couponing and stocking up on supplies for the long winter ahead of us. January is a good month to hunker down inside your home with a cup of hot chocolate and get started on the new year's genealogy research. New  year, fresh start. There are a whole new bunch of ancestors out there waiting to be found. So get those pantries stocked so you don't have to stop your research to run to the store for dinner.

OGS 6th Annual Writing Contest. Do you have an interesting ancestor in your family tree? Do you have a story about a specific place in Ohio? Did you break through an impossible brick wall this past year? Here is your chance to put it in words and submit it to OGS for possible publication in one of their journals. The deadline for entries is 28 Feb 2013. For more information go to: http://ogs.org/writing_contest/index.php

I am not big on New Year's resolutions, but every year I promise myself that I will faithfully document all my research.  It has worked because over the years I have become much better at doing this. It is so easy to convince yourself that you will remember where you got "this tidbit of information". I know it is time consuming and annoying when you have a whole book full of information sitting in front of you that could solve that one mystery that has been bugging you for years. If nothing else, note where you found the information plus title and author/publisher. In most cases you can go back later and find an online catalog for the facility you visited.

This is a good time of the year to clean out your closet and declutter your house. Put these items up for sale on Craig's List or Ebay and use the extra money for society memberships or conference trips. All my funds for genealogy trips during the year come from ebay sales. Yes you can do it! If you can do research online you can learn how to sell on Ebay. Just remember the most important rule -- just because something didn't sell the first time doesn't mean it won't sell. It will, eventually!! Note. Ebay gives its sellers 50 free listings every month. That means no listing fee, just a final value fee.

This new year is also a good time to get involved with your local genealogy society. Benefits: meet other family researchers, find new cousins, learn new skills, exchange ideas, informative lectures and local trips. With all the research that is available online now, it is easy to just stay home and stare at  your computer. You really do need the interaction with other genealogists. Note. This year at the OGS Conference there will be a Social Media Gathering on Thursday April 25 at 6:15pm.

Welcome in the New Year tonight!
Relax and watch football tomorrow!
Find a new ancestor on Wednesday!

A Brand New Christmas

I sincerely hope that this Christmas season finds all of you together with your family and friends. As the years go by we lose touch with so many of our dear friends and family members.

I am getting ready for  Christmas all by myself this year. It has turned out to be the ultimate mufti-tasking situation. Somehow I managed to get all of my many outside Christmas lights up with the help of my many grandkids!! It looks great even though there are a few hiccups! Shopping is almost done: thank goodness for gift cards. May have to cut the cookie recipes in half this year or else live on Christmas cookies through February. That's  a money saving thought!

And this year I gave my kids the ultimate Christmas gift -- one less house to visit on Christmas Eve. I have decided to forget the traditional Christmas Eve dinner with all the trimmings and family members this year. Instead Winston (my Maltese) and I will have pizza and curl up on the couch to watch old Christmas movies -- just because we can! My kids are really happy because for the first time in many years they can all go where they want to on Christmas Eve. And they can get home in time for Santa. 

Of course we are all going to get together in the early evening on Christmas Day to just kick back and relax. I am really looking forward to this.

Sometimes Christmas needs to be changed.
 



 

Hey, Pilgrim!!

Here it is November again. And that means that families all over America are gathering to feast on turkey, mashed potatoes and gray, dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Oh, forgive me, I forgot the Green Bean Casserole!

But some of us are looking beyond Turkeyfest. We are searching for Pilgrim ancestors. Once again it is the same thing as the Salem Witches. You will be doing backwards genealogy. Fortunately, when you want to find ancestors who came over on the Mayflower, your odds are a lot better -- just because there are more resources. Let's face it, the Pilgrims were a little bit more popular that the Salem Witches.

So where do you go?http://www.themayflowersociety.com/  This is your initial source and also your best source. This website will give you the surnames of all the Mayflower Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Even though I probably don't have any ancestors who arrived on this particular ship, I am so impressed by this website. It is a wealth of information, full of history and interesting facts -- including many celebrities who are descended from the Pilgrims.

FYI: George Washington declared a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789.
President Lincoln proclaimed an annual Thanksgiving Day in 1863 during the Civil War. President Franklin Roosevelt established our present day Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Who Do I Thnk I Am

I have been working on my lineage papers for Century Families of Ohio. Just a little labor intensive! In my mind, I know who everyone is and I know  how I am related to all of these people whose names I am entering on all of these forms. So, not a problem -- right? I am beginning to realize that sometimes it is easier to prove ancestors in your family who existed 100 years ago than it is to prove a relative who was in your life 50 years ago. 

I read somewhere that Genesis, the first book of the Bible, is a primary source. Everything after that is hearsay and therefore, a secondary source. I always keep this in mind when looking at the records I am using for lineage papers. How far back does this record go. Can I go back any further to prove this date. If you can't, you have a primary source.
 
You have to put yourself in the place of the person who is reviewing your application And that is difficult. You have to become someone who never heard of you or your family. Then you prove to yourself that you are who you think you are. Yes! Who do you think you are!!

My papers are ready to be mailed. I will let you know what mistakes I made. I don't know anyone who got it right the first time.  Next in line before the New Year will be Settlers and Builders of Ohio.