Ok, so I know everyone has moved past the FGS Conference last month and are now blogging about other things. I'm trying to savor the moments I had there by dragging out my posts. Actually, the truth is that as of two weeks ago, I have started studying for the CPA exam. That has taken up the majority of my time, which is why I haven't blogged in about two weeks. Now, if I could only remember what I did on the last day of the conference....
Well, lucky for you guys, I have a pretty good memory. This is the only day of the conference where I made it to an 8 AM session. I attended the War of 1812 session by Christine Rose. Missy Corley of Bayside Blog was in attendance. I really wanted to see Christine Rose, which is the only reason I woke up so early. I love her book on courthouse records, so I figured her lecture would be great as well. She did not disappoint. She described the causes of the War and also informed us about bounty land records, including unindexed bounty land warrant applications based on service between 1812 and 1855, which are available at the National Archives.
I really wanted to attend the 9:30 AM session on North Carolina and Tennessee land grant processes, but I had to skip breakfast in order to make it in time for the 8 AM session. I was so hungry that I had to leave the conference and walk to Pete's for breakfast, so I had to miss the 9:30 session. I arrived back at the convention center around 10 AM, so I had an hour to browse the exhibit hall. I spoke with Louise St. Denis, the director of the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. I had been eying their 40 course certificate program for awhile, so I talked to her about the cost of this program. She told me that she would be raising prices around September 1, and that there was a 10% discount and one free course for conference attendees. She also told me that I could take as long as I wanted to complete the certificate program. Hmmm...something to think about.
Next, I attended the 11 AM session on organizing materials electronically by Josh Taylor of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. The most important concept I learned in this session was about metadata. Metadata is data about data. Josh showed us a spreadsheet that he keeps about the kinds of documents he has found on an individual or family. The spreadsheet has the name of the digital file, format of the digital file, the document name/type, individuals referenced in the document, repository, source citation, date created/found, and date edited. I need to do an analysis to determine whether my Clooz software is sufficient for storing metadata, or if I need to create spreadsheets as well. I have an inkling that Clooz is sufficient, but the accountant in me loves spreadsheets.
After the 11 AM session, all the geneabloggers ate lunch down in Market Square. This was our last day together :(.
I decided to skip the 2 PM session to further contemplate and calculate the cost of signing up for the 40 course certificate program at the National Institute. I finally decided that it would be a great deal financially to at least sign up now and receive the 10% discount plus the free course, especially since prices were on the rise. I knew I would be studying for the CPA exam soon and that I wouldn't have much time for anything else, but if I could take ten years to complete the certificate, I might as well sign up now to receive the special discounts. So I returned to the exhibit hall and signed up for the certificate program in American Records.
My final two sessions I attended were on finding Kentucky Civil War ancestors and on finding records for ancestors that worked on the railroad.
That evening, I attended a party at the home of Missy Corley's sister, who conveniently lives in Knoxville. I picked up Amy Coffin of The We Tree Genealogy Blog from her hotel, and we headed to Missy's sister's house. (Most of the other geneabloggers had left to head back home after lunch). We had some of Missy's yummy taco recipe that was passed down from her grandmother. The party was really fun, and we got to meet some of her sister's community theatre friends. We also met up with Madaleine Laird of kInfolit at the party. This was a great way to end a great weekend.
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Showing posts with label FGS Conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FGS Conference. Show all posts
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
My Report on FGS 2010 in Knoxville - Part II
OK, I am finally back to continue my report on the FGS Conference in Knoxville. I fell ill on Monday, and it is great to be feeling well again. I thought it was just conference hangover at first, but I believe that I had a 24-hour bug. I left off my last posting with Day One at the conference.
On Day Two, I woke up late once again and missed the 8:00 sessions. I went to breakfast at the Crowne Plaza restaurant and then headed over for the 9:30 sessions. My session was about pension agents, examining surgeons, and pension bureau employees in the nineteenth century and was given by Dr. Kenneth W. Heger of the National Archives. This was also one of my favorite sessions, and fellow geneablogger Tina from Gen Wish List, was there. I learned that I should check the records containing appeals for my great-great-great-grandfather, John Pemberton. He had a very large pension file, and while it looks like most of his appeal info is in his regular pension file, Dr. Heger said that there is a possibility some of the information is in the appeals files, which are not indexed. If you haven't ordered a pension file for your ancestor, I highly recommend it. John Pemberton's was my biggest goldmine yet.
For the 11:00 session, I attended Victor Dunn's session titled "The Research Process." I did not see any other geneabloggers in attendance, but I did sit next to a gentleman from East Tennessee. He asked what surnames I was researching in the area, and when I told him that one was Proffitt, he said that there used to be a Proffitt Department Store in East Tennessee and that there are still lots of Proffitts in the area today. I really liked this session because it was a nice refresher course on the research process as outlined in the BCG Manual. It had a slight focus on tips for client research, which is helpful to potential professionals like myself. I also found out that the presenter was an accountant too, which is always a plus in my book.
Afterward, I attended lunch with Tina, Linda, and Tonia before heading back to attend George Morgan's session on locating Anglican parish records in England. I had heard George give a talk on vital records in England on the RootsMagic Cruise, so I knew that this would also be an informative and entertaining session. We learned the history of the Anglican Church, what information is contained in parish records, and where the parish records are located today. This will help me a lot with my Plaine and Hillman ancestors on my maternal grandmother's side. They immigrated from England to Canada in the 1850s and 1860s.
After hearing Elizabeth Shown Mills the first day, I had to go to her session about The Genealogical Proof Standard on the second day. Just about all geneabloggers were in attendance and sitting on geneabloggers row for this session. Once again, Ms. Mills reminded us that we need to check all records, no matter where they are located and whether or not they are indexed. She presented a wonderful case study on proving the parentage of her client's ancestor.
Between sessions, I ran downstairs to put my door prize tickets in the exhibitors' boxes before the big drawings at 6:00 PM. I was planning to attend the session on land records by Christine Rose, but I had left my belongings with the geneabloggers who were waiting for the session on timelines to begin. I did not have enough time to grab my things and then run back downstairs to Rose's session, so I decided to stay for the timelines session. I learned of a few websites to use when constructing timelines in genealogy.
After this, I headed back downstairs to put in a few more door prize tickets at the last minute. I had procrastinated filling out my door prize tickets b/c I didn't have any address labels. There were some awesome prizes given away, such as an iPad, 5-day genealogy cruise to Bermuda, seven-night stay in Salt Lake City, free conference registration to the Illinois State Genealogical Society conference and the NGS conference, etc. Of course, I didn't win anything. Oh, well. It was fun anyway.
Finally, I attended the War of 1812 reception, where we learned about the digitization project of the War of 1812 pension files. There was also a prize there: 7-night stay in SLC plus airfare, meal cards, and copy cards for the FHL. After the drawing was over, I headed back to the hotel after the longest conference day yet.
As it is getting late, I will wrap this up again. Stay tuned for more reports on FGS 2010 in Knoxville!
On Day Two, I woke up late once again and missed the 8:00 sessions. I went to breakfast at the Crowne Plaza restaurant and then headed over for the 9:30 sessions. My session was about pension agents, examining surgeons, and pension bureau employees in the nineteenth century and was given by Dr. Kenneth W. Heger of the National Archives. This was also one of my favorite sessions, and fellow geneablogger Tina from Gen Wish List, was there. I learned that I should check the records containing appeals for my great-great-great-grandfather, John Pemberton. He had a very large pension file, and while it looks like most of his appeal info is in his regular pension file, Dr. Heger said that there is a possibility some of the information is in the appeals files, which are not indexed. If you haven't ordered a pension file for your ancestor, I highly recommend it. John Pemberton's was my biggest goldmine yet.
For the 11:00 session, I attended Victor Dunn's session titled "The Research Process." I did not see any other geneabloggers in attendance, but I did sit next to a gentleman from East Tennessee. He asked what surnames I was researching in the area, and when I told him that one was Proffitt, he said that there used to be a Proffitt Department Store in East Tennessee and that there are still lots of Proffitts in the area today. I really liked this session because it was a nice refresher course on the research process as outlined in the BCG Manual. It had a slight focus on tips for client research, which is helpful to potential professionals like myself. I also found out that the presenter was an accountant too, which is always a plus in my book.
Afterward, I attended lunch with Tina, Linda, and Tonia before heading back to attend George Morgan's session on locating Anglican parish records in England. I had heard George give a talk on vital records in England on the RootsMagic Cruise, so I knew that this would also be an informative and entertaining session. We learned the history of the Anglican Church, what information is contained in parish records, and where the parish records are located today. This will help me a lot with my Plaine and Hillman ancestors on my maternal grandmother's side. They immigrated from England to Canada in the 1850s and 1860s.
After hearing Elizabeth Shown Mills the first day, I had to go to her session about The Genealogical Proof Standard on the second day. Just about all geneabloggers were in attendance and sitting on geneabloggers row for this session. Once again, Ms. Mills reminded us that we need to check all records, no matter where they are located and whether or not they are indexed. She presented a wonderful case study on proving the parentage of her client's ancestor.
Between sessions, I ran downstairs to put my door prize tickets in the exhibitors' boxes before the big drawings at 6:00 PM. I was planning to attend the session on land records by Christine Rose, but I had left my belongings with the geneabloggers who were waiting for the session on timelines to begin. I did not have enough time to grab my things and then run back downstairs to Rose's session, so I decided to stay for the timelines session. I learned of a few websites to use when constructing timelines in genealogy.
After this, I headed back downstairs to put in a few more door prize tickets at the last minute. I had procrastinated filling out my door prize tickets b/c I didn't have any address labels. There were some awesome prizes given away, such as an iPad, 5-day genealogy cruise to Bermuda, seven-night stay in Salt Lake City, free conference registration to the Illinois State Genealogical Society conference and the NGS conference, etc. Of course, I didn't win anything. Oh, well. It was fun anyway.
Finally, I attended the War of 1812 reception, where we learned about the digitization project of the War of 1812 pension files. There was also a prize there: 7-night stay in SLC plus airfare, meal cards, and copy cards for the FHL. After the drawing was over, I headed back to the hotel after the longest conference day yet.
As it is getting late, I will wrap this up again. Stay tuned for more reports on FGS 2010 in Knoxville!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
My Report on FGS 2010 in Knoxville - Part I
First of all, I just wanted to say that I had the most awesome time at the 2010 FGS conference in Knoxville. If anyone is wondering whether or not to go to a national conference, I would highly recommend it. Don't just say, "Well, I'll go one day." Just do it now. You won't regret it. I've been making excuses for 2 years now, and I'm so glad I made the decision to just go.
I first heard about the conference when I was on the RootsMagic Cruise in February (which I still need to blog about). I looked it up and found out that Knoxville was only a 5 1/2 hour drive from Raleigh, so I decided at that time that I would go. Of course, I'm an accountant, and January through April is a very busy time for me, so I soon forgot about it not long after I got back from the cruise. In June, I realized that I had not yet registered. By this time, I was already starting to make excuses as to why I couldn't go. My main excuse was that I was about to make a huge move from Louisiana to North Carolina and couldn't afford it, nor could I afford the time away from work in the middle of a company relocation. However, I went ahead and registered anyway before the early bird deadline, because I figured I would only lose $50 (admin fee) if I decided not to go. By registering early, I was saving $50, so my accountant mind figured that it all worked out. Up to the week of the conference, I considered backing out b/c of the stressful situation at work. I'm so glad that I didn't.
I left Raleigh at about 12:30 on Wednesday, Aug. 18, and arrived in Knoxville at 6:15 that evening. I was tired, so I just ordered room service and blogged before going to bed. The first day of sessions had ended by the time I arrived. I had decided in advance to skip the first day of sessions, since most of them apply more to officers in societies. I do plan to get involved in a genealogy society here in Raleigh, but since I just got here and haven't yet gotten involved, I figured the sessions did not yet apply.
I woke up Thursday morning, planning to attend the keynote session of the conference, but I didn't quite make it. I went to Pete's Coffee Shop instead for breakfast and then headed over to the convention center to pick up my registration packet before the exhibit hall's grand opening. At the exhibit hall, I met up with the other geneabloggers near the Illinois State Genealogical Society's table. The meeting was organized by the geneablogger king, Thomas MacEntee. We took a picture, which is up at Greta's Genealogy Bog. We visited for about 15-20 minutes, and then we all split up to visit the various booths. I bought two pieces of software: RootsMagic's Family Atlas and MagiKey's Census Tracker. I haven't tried either yet, but I plan to do a review of both of them. In addition, I also visited the booths for the Ohio Genealogical Society, East Tennessee Historical Society, Genealogical Speakers Guild, International Society for British Genealogy and Family History, Worldwide Cruise Headquarters, and the Illinois State Genealogical Society. One thing that piqued my interest is a trip sponsored by the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History. They offer a week-long trip to Salt Lake City, which includes classes in the morning and research assistance in the afternoons at the Family History Library.
The first session I attended was "The Manuscript Collection at the Kentucky Historical Society" by Lynne Hollingsworth. This session made me realize that I really have overlooked manuscripts in the past. My Renfro and Welden lines are from Kentucky, so it was helpful to get an overview of places I may find them at the historical society. I've already checked in the society's online catalog and have found a book on the Renfro's that I suspect includes my Renfro line, and a book on the Welden's that I suspect includes my Welden line.
After the first session, I decided that I needed to take my laptop back to the hotel because it was too heavy to carry around. I grabbed a sandwich from Pete's on the way back to the convention center and then went to the second session.
My second session was probably my absolute favorite session: "Poor? Female? Black? Slave? Southern Research Strategies" by Elizabeth Shown Mills (my genealogy idol). This presentation had two parts. The first part explained how to complete a reasonably exhaustive search for our elusive female ancestors, using Philomene from the novel Cane River as an example. I learned that I really need to use every source available, no matter where it's located, and even if it's not indexed. Sometimes, I have to admit, I have been guilty of only using online and indexed sources (bad Jennifer!). Ms. Mills explained that even though we were using a slave woman as an example, the techniques she taught could be used on any female ancestor, regardless of race or socioeconomic status. The second half of the session discussed how to use sources to reconstruct the life of a female ancestor, using the example of CoinCoin, a slave woman from Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana (where I went to high school, coincidentally).
i had initially planned to go to the session about the Tennessee State Library and Archives, but I was very tired by this point. So instead, I decided to attend the Genealogy Guys live podcast, especially since I didn't get to do so on the RootsMagic cruise. They asked the audience for questions, and I even got to say a few lines on the air. I asked George about resources at the North Carolina State Archives, which is located in my new hometown of Raleigh. I can't wait to listen to the podcast. Several other geneabloggers were in attendance at the podcast. Afterward, Linda, Tonia, and I ate dinner at Latitude 35 in Market Square, where we learned about one of Linda's intriguing ancestors and her journey to find out his story.
I would like to continue the review, but I think I will wrap it up at Day One for now. It is getting late and I have a cat that must have gotten my tweet earlier about her ignoring me. She has been sitting in my lap for this whole posting, and it is getting difficult to reach over her to type. I think it's safe to say that she missed me. Stay tuned for FGS 2010 in Knoxville - Part II.
I first heard about the conference when I was on the RootsMagic Cruise in February (which I still need to blog about). I looked it up and found out that Knoxville was only a 5 1/2 hour drive from Raleigh, so I decided at that time that I would go. Of course, I'm an accountant, and January through April is a very busy time for me, so I soon forgot about it not long after I got back from the cruise. In June, I realized that I had not yet registered. By this time, I was already starting to make excuses as to why I couldn't go. My main excuse was that I was about to make a huge move from Louisiana to North Carolina and couldn't afford it, nor could I afford the time away from work in the middle of a company relocation. However, I went ahead and registered anyway before the early bird deadline, because I figured I would only lose $50 (admin fee) if I decided not to go. By registering early, I was saving $50, so my accountant mind figured that it all worked out. Up to the week of the conference, I considered backing out b/c of the stressful situation at work. I'm so glad that I didn't.
I left Raleigh at about 12:30 on Wednesday, Aug. 18, and arrived in Knoxville at 6:15 that evening. I was tired, so I just ordered room service and blogged before going to bed. The first day of sessions had ended by the time I arrived. I had decided in advance to skip the first day of sessions, since most of them apply more to officers in societies. I do plan to get involved in a genealogy society here in Raleigh, but since I just got here and haven't yet gotten involved, I figured the sessions did not yet apply.
I woke up Thursday morning, planning to attend the keynote session of the conference, but I didn't quite make it. I went to Pete's Coffee Shop instead for breakfast and then headed over to the convention center to pick up my registration packet before the exhibit hall's grand opening. At the exhibit hall, I met up with the other geneabloggers near the Illinois State Genealogical Society's table. The meeting was organized by the geneablogger king, Thomas MacEntee. We took a picture, which is up at Greta's Genealogy Bog. We visited for about 15-20 minutes, and then we all split up to visit the various booths. I bought two pieces of software: RootsMagic's Family Atlas and MagiKey's Census Tracker. I haven't tried either yet, but I plan to do a review of both of them. In addition, I also visited the booths for the Ohio Genealogical Society, East Tennessee Historical Society, Genealogical Speakers Guild, International Society for British Genealogy and Family History, Worldwide Cruise Headquarters, and the Illinois State Genealogical Society. One thing that piqued my interest is a trip sponsored by the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History. They offer a week-long trip to Salt Lake City, which includes classes in the morning and research assistance in the afternoons at the Family History Library.
The first session I attended was "The Manuscript Collection at the Kentucky Historical Society" by Lynne Hollingsworth. This session made me realize that I really have overlooked manuscripts in the past. My Renfro and Welden lines are from Kentucky, so it was helpful to get an overview of places I may find them at the historical society. I've already checked in the society's online catalog and have found a book on the Renfro's that I suspect includes my Renfro line, and a book on the Welden's that I suspect includes my Welden line.
After the first session, I decided that I needed to take my laptop back to the hotel because it was too heavy to carry around. I grabbed a sandwich from Pete's on the way back to the convention center and then went to the second session.
My second session was probably my absolute favorite session: "Poor? Female? Black? Slave? Southern Research Strategies" by Elizabeth Shown Mills (my genealogy idol). This presentation had two parts. The first part explained how to complete a reasonably exhaustive search for our elusive female ancestors, using Philomene from the novel Cane River as an example. I learned that I really need to use every source available, no matter where it's located, and even if it's not indexed. Sometimes, I have to admit, I have been guilty of only using online and indexed sources (bad Jennifer!). Ms. Mills explained that even though we were using a slave woman as an example, the techniques she taught could be used on any female ancestor, regardless of race or socioeconomic status. The second half of the session discussed how to use sources to reconstruct the life of a female ancestor, using the example of CoinCoin, a slave woman from Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana (where I went to high school, coincidentally).
i had initially planned to go to the session about the Tennessee State Library and Archives, but I was very tired by this point. So instead, I decided to attend the Genealogy Guys live podcast, especially since I didn't get to do so on the RootsMagic cruise. They asked the audience for questions, and I even got to say a few lines on the air. I asked George about resources at the North Carolina State Archives, which is located in my new hometown of Raleigh. I can't wait to listen to the podcast. Several other geneabloggers were in attendance at the podcast. Afterward, Linda, Tonia, and I ate dinner at Latitude 35 in Market Square, where we learned about one of Linda's intriguing ancestors and her journey to find out his story.
I would like to continue the review, but I think I will wrap it up at Day One for now. It is getting late and I have a cat that must have gotten my tweet earlier about her ignoring me. She has been sitting in my lap for this whole posting, and it is getting difficult to reach over her to type. I think it's safe to say that she missed me. Stay tuned for FGS 2010 in Knoxville - Part II.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Yes, I am Alive and in Knoxville!
I haven't posted too much since I first arrived in North Carolina about a month ago. I apologize. I'm still working on trying to keep up at work. Relocating a whole company can be very challenging. I love new experiences, but I think I would have to think twice about moving with a company that is relocating headquarters again. Whew! But I do love North Carolina and my job, and I'm glad I am there.
For the next three days, I can forget about the challenges of work and delve into the FGS conference in Knoxville. I arrived this evening around 6:00 pm. It was a nearly 6-hour drive from Raleigh. It was an easy route to remember --- straight across I-40. The conference started this morning, but with the work piling up mentioned above, I decided to skip the first day of seminars and come in this evening. The drive here was beautiful. I drove through the Smoky Mountains, partially in a light rain storm. It was pretty neat to see the smoke coming off the mountains right in front of me. Unfortunately, I came by myself, so I didn't get to take too many pictures. Here is one of the Smokies near the North Carolina/Tennessee border.
Tomorrow, I am planning on ordering a nice breakfast from the hotel room service before attending the keynote speech at 8 AM. I believe there is a trolley, but I think I will walk to the convention center since it is only a block away. I then plan to explore the exhibit hall and meeting up with some geneabloggers before the 11 AM sessions. If I don't change my mind again, or if I can manage to arrive before the sessions get filled up, I believe I will attend the following three sessions tomorrow:
1) The Manuscript Collections at the Kentucky Historical Society - I have heard that there is info on my Renfro ancestors in the historical society's vertical files
2) Poor? Female? Black? Slave? Southern Research Strategies - I couldn't miss a presentation by Elizabeth Shown Mills. She is also using examples from one of my favorite novels, Cane River.
3) Ya'll Come See Us: A Virtual Visit to the Tennessee State Library and Archives - I'm sure there is much info there on my Proffitt ancestors.
And speaking of my Proffitt ancestors, I just realized today that I was actually in Jefferson County, Tennessee, the land of the Proffitts. I may have to veer off I-40 to Chestnut Hill to look for cemeteries and whatnot on Sunday.
Anyhow, I will try to post another update tomorrow or Friday.
For the next three days, I can forget about the challenges of work and delve into the FGS conference in Knoxville. I arrived this evening around 6:00 pm. It was a nearly 6-hour drive from Raleigh. It was an easy route to remember --- straight across I-40. The conference started this morning, but with the work piling up mentioned above, I decided to skip the first day of seminars and come in this evening. The drive here was beautiful. I drove through the Smoky Mountains, partially in a light rain storm. It was pretty neat to see the smoke coming off the mountains right in front of me. Unfortunately, I came by myself, so I didn't get to take too many pictures. Here is one of the Smokies near the North Carolina/Tennessee border.
Tomorrow, I am planning on ordering a nice breakfast from the hotel room service before attending the keynote speech at 8 AM. I believe there is a trolley, but I think I will walk to the convention center since it is only a block away. I then plan to explore the exhibit hall and meeting up with some geneabloggers before the 11 AM sessions. If I don't change my mind again, or if I can manage to arrive before the sessions get filled up, I believe I will attend the following three sessions tomorrow:1) The Manuscript Collections at the Kentucky Historical Society - I have heard that there is info on my Renfro ancestors in the historical society's vertical files
2) Poor? Female? Black? Slave? Southern Research Strategies - I couldn't miss a presentation by Elizabeth Shown Mills. She is also using examples from one of my favorite novels, Cane River.
3) Ya'll Come See Us: A Virtual Visit to the Tennessee State Library and Archives - I'm sure there is much info there on my Proffitt ancestors.
And speaking of my Proffitt ancestors, I just realized today that I was actually in Jefferson County, Tennessee, the land of the Proffitts. I may have to veer off I-40 to Chestnut Hill to look for cemeteries and whatnot on Sunday.
Anyhow, I will try to post another update tomorrow or Friday.
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