FGS Conference 2018 - Friday!

My daughter's most favorite thing about her first conference -- The Exhibit Hall. (We've all been there.) Her least favorite thing -- finding a parking place in downtown Fort Wayne. Of course!!

We worked on getting our passports stamped in the exhibit hall. We are about half way there. Didn't realize there are that many booths in the exhibit hall.

We stopped for an event at ancestry.com titled "Stump the Genealogist." Excellent! It was a fun way to pick up some tips about using ancestry.

We have one day left and I am sure we will crowd many things into the time left. May not have time for research but we will definitely make a stop at the Allen County Library.

Of course I made a few "resolutions". I will finally join the DAR, join the Genealogical Speakers Guild, and look into the Mayflower Society. But the most important and the one I keep putting off -- prove to the remaining  Ohio lineage societies. This now has added motivation. My family might be going to the OGS conference in the Cincinnati area and this is where my ancestors who will be honored are from. 

The DNA track at this conference was very informative. I can now approach my results with new confidence. I pushed myself a bit with an advanced session about DNA but that is not a bad thing. I did learn some information that will start to make sense in the future.  

On The Road Again

For the first time in about 4 years I am in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for the FGS conference. Along with thousands of other family researchers. The last time I was here DNA was a brand new genealogy tool and nobody understood it. We still aren't clear about how to incorporate it into our genealogy research but now we have experts who can explain this new concept.

I was very impressed with the speakers I listened to today. I definitely learned a lot. I verified what I always suspected -- that DNA doesn't work without a solid base of basic genealogy research. In other words it will not give you a list of your ancestors. Also, your success  will depend on how large your data base is. One thing that stood out at all the sessions was the importance of DNA for finding birth parents. Complicated, yet doable.

As for the exhibit hall, there is so much going on. For free!! Mini workshops. Raffles. Door prizes. Special pricing on DNA kits. There are a lot of unique and new booths along with the large well-known web sites. 

Of course the Allen County Library needs no introduction. I have always thought that conference hotel pricing should exist for a week after the conference so everyone has a chance to research at the library.

But the big thing for me this year is (drum roll, please) my daughter will be attending her first genealogy conference tomorrow. The torch is passed! It will be fun and I imagine eye-opening to witness someone visiting  their very first ever conference. I take the whole event for granted after years of conference. It will be interesting to just sit back and watch.

Conference Ho!!

For the first time in a number of years I am planning on attending a genealogy conference. A few days ago I registered for the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, On the Three Rivers - Past, Present & Future,  in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This is the last week to take advantage of the Early Bird Registration discounts and the hotels in the area still have rooms available at the special conference rate. 

Conferences are for everyone, whether you are just a newbie to genealogy with only a couple hours under your belt or an advanced family researcher with many years of experience. This is an event where you can reconnect with old friends, make new friends, or maybe even find a new cousin. 

One of the best features of this conference when it is in Fort Wayne is the Allen County Library and it is within easy walking distance from the conference hall. Right across the street! The library has one of the best and well-known genealogy departments in the country. It is a must for this conference to set aside some time in order to spend some research time at the library. And, definitely design a research plan before you go. 

This year I am going to concentrate on the DNA track. It covers all three days of the conference. However, if you haven't ventured into the world of genetic genealogy yet there are many other tracks available this year: African American, Eastern Europe, German, Methodology, Midwest, Records, Scandinavian, Technology, and the United Kingdom. In addition to the track sessions there are workshops, luncheons, and evening events.  

Early bird registration ends in just a couple day. See you in Fort Wayne!

Mother's Day - Six Years Later

It will be 6 years this Sunday since my husband passed away. He went to the National Genealogical Society Conference in Cincinnati with me on the Monday before he died. He wanted me to start a blog and we would travel to various places that I would write about. I told him "only if it has to do with genealogy". He agreed. And we took off to our first conference. 

He spent, maybe, a half hour at the conference with me and then he took off to the hills of Kentucky and southern Ohio. I was in my world at the conference and he was in his world playing "Dukes of Hazard" on the road on either side of the Ohio River. We came home with many plans to do this again. 

He died a few days later. On May 13. It was Mother's Day. Now six years later it is May 13 and it is Mother's Day again. Full circle.

My life has changed so much in the last six years. I am my own person now. I am no one's wife. I am no one's daughter. I am me.

I have made the decision to sell my house and downsize one more time. I have to wonder why it took that six year cycle to make it happen. Everything just fell into place. There was a possible buyer and my home magically became ready to be sold.

I am looking forward to renting a villa with no maintenance. A smaller space to live in seems perfect to me now. More time for the things I want to do. Of course that means more time to devote to genealogy. 

Since I became a widow on May 13, 2012, my life has changed so much and I have grown in so many ways I never imagined. The guilt is gone. Some of the fear is still there and will probably never completely go away. The love will always be there, but the tears have turned to memories.  

I am so ready for this new season of my life.

 

  

The Mother Lode of Conferences! Whoo Hoo.

If you live in Northwest Ohio, you are in going to be in genealogical wonderland this year. 

OGS Conference 11-14 April 2018, Columbus, Ohio

National Genealogical Society Conference 2-5 May 2018, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

FGS Conference 22-25 August 2018, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

It doesn't get any better than this. 

Stay tuned!

Genealogical glass houses!

Something I heard on television a few weeks ago really got me thinking. 

"People who live in genealogical glass houses shouldn't throw stones." 
(Jennifer Mendelsohn, genealogist. AM Joy MSNBC, January 20, 2018)

First of all, please let me make one thing clear. This is not a political opinion. It  is something that I have gradually learned during my many years of family research. Genealogists see things differently and because of this maybe genealogy should be a required subject in school. See Jane. See Dick. See Jane's parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, . . . .well you get the picture. Makes sense to me.

But here is the thing -- we all live in genealogical glass houses. No one can escape that fact. If you're an American, you live in a genealogical glass house. You can ignore it. You can refuse to believe it, but family history is your family story. It is His Story, Her Story, Our Story, Their Story, Your Story. Get it? It exists whether you want it to or not.

                   [Please take a 10 minute pause to meditate on this and please learn from this.]

Yes. We all live in genealogical glass houses. We need to understand why and where our ancestors lived. Did they stay or did they move. Were they immigrants? Did they own slaves? Were they slaves? Were they harassed because of nationality? 

Can you change your family history? No!
Can you learn from it?  Yes!
Can you treat others as you wish your ancestors could have been or were treated? Yes!

Read.
Learn.
Understand. 

And the best way to learn about and understand the future is to research your family's past. 

It's not to late to research your family.






 

Want to make a donation? Won't cost you a penny - just your vote!

Kroger in Waterville, Ohio, is opening a new marketplace store. (Actually they have added on to our current store.) In honor of the grand opening they are going to donate $10,000 to 3 local organizations. The money will be divided according to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. $5000, $3,000 and $2,000. 

This is your chance to help the Waterville Historical Society with a donation and it won't cost you a dime. Just log onto the the Kroger website below and vote for Waterville Historical Society. You can cast your vote everyday til the contest ends at midnight on January 29. You can help us by sharing this info with all your friends, even your friends on Facebook! And don't forget your relatives. And maybe your ancestors can help with a little bit of serendipity.

WHS provides events and educational programs and tours for local residents and visitors. We have two homes and a building that we maintain in order to preserve a view of the past. One of the homes is in need of costly repairs. This donation from Kroger would provide much needed funds toward this goal. 

Please consider a donation:

https://www.krogeropening.com/support-a-cause/

Thank you so much. Your votes are greatly appreciated.