Thankful Thursday: Happy about Past and Upcoming Opportunities

Happy Thanksgiving!

-I am thankful for my fledgling ‘career’ in genealogy, especially that I can write this weekly blog, mostly without stress to meet my self-imposed deadline.

-I was pleased with my Beginning Genealogy class at the Lifelong Learning Academy in Sarasota, Florida. Eight weeks gave most people time to meet their initial goal.

-Several groups in Florida took a chance on a relatively new speaker. Thank you to the Englewood and Sarasota genealogy groups for their faith and attention. I think they know a little more about reading a deed now.

-I enjoyed meeting my sister in Cincinnati for the NGS conference, May 9 – 12. We had a good time and loved Fountain Square and the Underground RR Museum. By a stroke of luck, I was selected to be an official blogger for the event. I found it really hard to write with a such tight deadlines and when exhausted. I need the gift of stamina soon.

Hot News for 2013 (1)

Ohio Genealogy Society – Annual Conference

Expanding Your Ancestry Through Technology

25-27 April 2013, Millennium Hotel, Cincinnati

I will speak twice on Saturday afternoon: Accessing Land Records Online, Deeds: An Insider’s View.

Hot News for 2013 (2)

The Lifelong Learning Academy, Sarasota, Florida – Intermediate Genealogy: Researching Abroad

Beginning the week of January 7 for eight weeks - $75 plus a parking pass www.thelifelonglearningacademy.com

                        From the soon to be published catalog:

You are ready to search for your ancestors abroad, if you have previously taken a beginning genealogy course and have conducted extensive research with records here in North America. We will develop a research plan and strategies to find your ancestors so come to the first class with a person’s name and village of origin in a European country.

If you will be in the area, please consider taking this course. Most genealogists learn about advanced topics by attending society meetings, reading and researching on their own. Here is a rare chance to interact with others on your level in a supportive atmosphere.

Hot News for 2013 (3)

South Bay Genealogical Society, Sun City, Florida

Tuesday, 19 Mar 2013

"Basic English Research"

www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~flsbgs

Meetings at the South Shore Regional Library and the year’s programs are listed on the website.

Hope you can make it to one of my talks or classes.

©2012, Susan Lewis Well

NGS Conference - Day 2

I did not step foot in the Exhibit Hall at all yesterday. Day 2 was jammed full of education. I began the morning at the Board of Certification session, only to find that it may not be for me at this stage of life. One submits a potfolio of work to the Board. One portion is document work. Suddenly the Day 1 lecture about transcription and abstraction had a purpose. I got it...

I mentioned earlier that I would go off topic for some German workshops so the next three were on that topic. Teresa McMillin, John Humphrey and Warren Bittner are well known in this field, and the room was packed. Some were turned away from the first two. Then we were treated to genealogists acting badly...perhaps one genealogist acting badly. My Advice: Get organized. Get where you are supposed to be on time or read it in the syllabus material.

The last workshop was very good, even better if you live or research in Virginia. It was about genealogists and the law. I have all sorts of new resources to use. This material was excellent for intermediate and seasoned researchers.

Off to Day 3 now. Read Dick Eastman's blog if you want a list of some of the frustrations. At least he is staying in the suburbs and has traffic problems. I had hoped that a small city like this would have solved some of the big convention hotels' issues. No. He mentions expensive food which is an issue, but being on my perpetual diet, I just order less or use an appetizer for dinner.

NGS Conference - Wednesday, Day 1

I have nothing but good things to say about the conference so far. The center is easy to negotiate. No speaker had any technical problems. A good day.

I began with the opening session at 8:00 am followed by time in the exhibit hall. I have nominees for nicest booth personnel. So far they are the woman at the British Archives, the women at the Oklahoma Historical Society and the young man at Jewishgen.

At 11:00 am, I attended, Begin with the Power Tools: Transcriptions, Abstracts and Analysis with David McDonald. I got several pointers I had missed before and found him to be organized and an excellent speaker. Of course, in real life, he is a minister so the latter may come with the territory.

At 2:30 pm, I heard Elizabeth Shown Mills talk about plagiarism. She lived up to her reputation, but as cute as her slides were, I was winding down and admit to nodding off once or twice toward the end. Shame on me.
Last, I attended a talk about Military Bounty Lands by Rick Sayre. Given the usual topics of this blog, you can look forward to hearing more about his talk later. He defined terms like warrant, patent and  scrip and described the process a veteran would go through to obtain land under the everchanging program perameters.

Was way too tired to write last night.

Today's schedule is the most grueling - 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. I may wait to write tomorrow until morning again.

NGS Conference - Arriving in Cincinnati

I have arrived and registered for the confernce. NGS is to be credited for a great registration system, very fast and easy...bring picture ID. My sister and I found a place to have a quick dinner at Fountain Square. Now I need to really decide what to do tomorrow. No more maybe this session, maybe that. It's time to be definate.

I flew with a connection in Detroit, a new airport for me. It was a pleasant experience, partly because I got off the plane and found that I was at the right gate. Yes, they were just cleaning the plane and an hour later I reboarded it, took a different, better seat and continued on the last leg of the trip.

I'm doing this travel log because of the cab ride from the airport to the Hyatt - Too expensive, but we rounded a curve and the whole skyline of Cincinnati appeared before me - absolutely breathtaking. The city seems a good size for walking. Let the work and fun begin!

NGS Conference - Getting Ready

I was just notified yesterday morning that I will be an official blogger for the National Genealogical Society meeting next Wednesday through Saturday in Cincinnati, Ohio. I am thrilled and pleased to have my blog on the same list as 'Dear Myrtle' and the others. My thanks to NGS for this opportunity.

So now I have much to do. I had just begun thinking about which shoes would be most comfortable and how small my suitcase could be, if I really tried hard to organize. Now that a bit more responsibility has been given me, I need to think more about workshop and lecture choices. I have to find the email with the confirmation of the selections I made when I registered in December or January. Luckily, I made a folder for those emails so I should find it there.

Obviously, I think I picked some lectures in my specialty areas, UK and land research, but I also thought it would be great to hit a few of the German sessions. Half of my family is German and the many offerings in the catalog made me think I could make up for some lost time quickly here.

I decided to go to lunch on Thursday with the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History. I am not ashamed to admit that I want to win a door prize. In October of 2010, I shared a van from the Salt Lake City Airport to the Chrystal Inn with a woman who won free tuition to the group's annual educational week in Salt Lake at a NGS or FGS conference. Besides being in a room with a hundred other English researchers for an hour or so, a week in Salt Lake would be great.

In Salt Lake in 2010, my sister, also an avid genealogist, came and shared my room as she will next week. We were quite an 'item' because so many genealogists don't have family members interested in what is a passion for us. I am very lucky in that way.