Report from the FGS Conference

Maureen E. attended the FGS conference in Washington D.C. this month. Here's her report on the week.  Thanks for sharing, Maureen!

I attended the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference in Washington, D.C., August 20-24.

The FGS has joined with the National Genealogical Society so in the future there will only be a single national meeting of the two. The FGS does have one more meeting scheduled for September 2020 in Kansas City.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conference. There was a pre-conference day in which one could try guided research at one of DC's main repositories--NARA, LOC or DAR. I went to the Library of Congress--the ambience alone is a reason to visit. Having a LOC research card allows one access to all of Hathi Trust on line--another benefit if your visit is short.

Because the meeting itself was in DC, there was a Mid-Atlantic track that suited my interests very well. I learned about additional small repositories in the area as well as more obscure records in the main repositories, as well as historical perspectives of the area. Also, since this was the FGS there was a track for genealogy societies and their special issues. DNA, African American and other cultural issues were well covered.

I was able to get some additional input from Maureen Taylor regarding a photograph of my elusive Frederick, a promise of a final revolutionary war pension payment from a NARA archivist and a plan ($) for further DNA analysis for my Crittenden line.

All in all it was a very worthwhile experience.

National Genealogical Society 2020 Conference

Something to consider as you plan your travels home next spring!


 

Reserve your accommodations starting 15 August 2019 for the National Genealogical Society’s forty-second annual Family History Conference, Echoes of Our Ancestors.

The conference will be held 20-23 May 2020 at the Salt Palace Convention Center (SPCC), 100 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah. It will feature more than 150 genealogy lectures on a wide variety of topics including DNA, ethnic sources, historical migrations, immigration, research techniques, specialized collections at the Family History Library, and more.

NGS offers attendees a choice of several hotels with discounted rates. All are convenient to the convention center. The official conference hotel, the Hilton Salt Lake City Center, is just a short walk from the convention center. The Radisson Hotel Salt Lake City Downtown is located adjacent to the convention center, and the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel is only half a block away. The three hotels offer complimentary wireless internet.

1918 Newspaper Article

Waupaca County Post - June 13, 1918

I noticed this article when we were searching for obituaries at the Wisconsin Historical Society last month. How many of our maternal German ancestors were frightened by a similar notice? I found it interesting that only women were required to register, although men may have had to do the same at a previous time.

The article explains the notice I found many years ago placed by Katherine Schmidt Nickel, my great-great-grandfather's sister, explaining that she would now be writing her name "Nicol, as that was the original spelling and would seem more American." Interestingly, her announcement appeared in the same issue of the paper as this article. And the Schmidt family did come from Germany.

Not only was that NOT the original spelling, her husband was from Ireland, even though the surname could be seen as "German." Why was she concerned? When I rechecked the 1910 census, it states that her husband was not a citizen; therefore, neither was she. He had passed away in 1912 without becoming naturalized; she would have been a citizen if he had completed that process.

Free Irish Websites

Rick sent a note the other day with a link to IrelandXO which has published a list of the "Top FREE Irish Genealogy Resources for 2019." You will find links to websites for names, places, vital records, church records, etc.

The categories include Irish Vital Records, Irish Census Records, and Irish Census Record Substitutes. Give the website a try and good luck to our Irish researchers!

https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/news/irelandxo-insight-top-free-irish-genealogy-resources-2019

Thanks for the tip, Rick.

August Webinars at Legacy

Visit www.familytreewebinars.com to register or to learn more about the topics.

Friday, August 2: "DNA, Genealogy, and Privacy: Handling the Double-Edged Sword," by Thomas MacEntee.  Intermediate

Tuesday, August 6: "Finding Families in New Zealand," by Fiona Brooker.  Beginner, Intermediate

Wednesday, August 7: "Case Studies in Gray: Identifying Shared Ancestries Through DNA and Genealogy," by Nicka Smith.  Intermediate, Advanced

Wednesday, August 14: "Basics of Land Platting - Part I," by J. Mark Lowe.  Intermediate, Advanced

Tuesday, August 20: "Ten Tools for Genealogical Writing," by Harold Henderson.  Intermediate

Wednesday, August 21: "Bullet Journaling for Genealogy," by Shellee A. Morehead. Beginner, Intermediate

Friday, August 23: "Introduction to Forensic Genealogy," by Kelvin L. Meyers.  Intermediate

Wednesday, August 28: "Using Teams with your Genealogy," by Tessa Keough.  Intermediate

Mayflower

We just finished reading Mayflower, by Nathaniel Philbrick, another of the historical books we brought along this summer--I guess in honor of next year's 400-year celebration. The book is extremely well-sourced, and I learned much about the voyage and the Plymouth settlement. I read somewhere that our history lessons tend to jump from 1620 to 1776. Philbrick concentrates on the seventy or eighty years following the landing of the Mayflower and provides an entirely new perspective on that period of history.

Research in Madison, WI

We had planned to visit the Wisconsin State Historical Society for research in the library during our two weeks in the Madison area. Imagine our surprise to find that our motel in Fitchburg provides a shuttle almost to the door of the library! Delivery and pick-up right across the street from the campus union...

Our first goal was obituaries, as we were aware of the library's large collection of newspaper microfilm. Dick had created a list from Family Tree Maker called "Died in Wisconsin" so that we had the name, date and place of death for reference. At the library we used a book called Guide to Wisconsin Newspapers 1833-2004 to find out which newspapers were available on microfilm for the locations. (This book is also available to download as a PDF file.) Then the librarian printed a list of film numbers; we located the films and got set up at a film reader. As we found each obit, we passed a flash drive back and forth to copy the information.

Second floor reading room; microfilm readers in back corner

According the the librarian newspapers for several cities in Wisconsin have been digitized, but Dick found that the search field for the database was not as effective as he had hoped. It was also tedious to copy to the flash drive; it didn't seem to work unless you made a word document first. Using microfilm was more efficient!

Where do I take the cart full of microfilms?

FamilySearch Classes

Dick Eastman's newsletter last week had a post about webinars and classes at FamilySearch.

The FamilySearch Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, has announced its free classes and webinars for July 2019. Classes will include useful insights for beginners, how to successfully use the FamilySearch Family Tree, and German and Danish Research. Attend in person or online. No registration is required.

If you cannot attend a live event, most sessions are recorded and can be viewed later online at your convenience at Family History Library classes and webinars. Online classes are noted on the schedule as webinars.

Here is the link to the Wiki where classes are listed.


https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Family_History_Library_Classes_and_Webinars