NGS 2015: Day 4

This week has flown by! I started the day off with Patricia Walls Stamm's lecture "Railroads and Their Records." Some of my relatives worked for railroads (including my great-great-grandfather's brother Jesse Tarkington, who was killed in a train accident in 1909); hopefully I will be able to locate additional information on them. I then went to Billie Stone Fogarty's session "The Homestead Act & Land Entry Files." Some of my ancestors and collateral relatives obtained land through the Homestead Act. I then attended Craig Roberts Scott's presentation "Civil War Prisoner of War Records." My 3rd-great-grandfather's brother John G. Gatlin was a prisoner of war at Rock Island Barracks. Next, I attended the NGS luncheon, where Jan Alpert spoke on "Have You Tested Your DNA? Is There a Non-Paternity Event in Your Family?" After lunch, I attended Vic Dunn's lecture on indirect evidence. Finally, I heard Craig Roberts Scott speak again, this time on researching ancestors in the War of 1812. So far I have identified three ancestors who participated in the War of 1812, as well as the brother of an ancestor. After the conference, I met up with some of the other Geneabloggers at Hendricks BBQ.

I will head home tomorrow. It has been a great week!

NGS 2015: Day 3

I began Day 3 with Alison Hare's lecture "The Time of Cholera," a fascinating case study of a London neighborhood during the 1854 cholera outbreak. Next, I heard Elizabeth Shown Mills' presentation "The Problem Solver's Great Trifecta: GPS + Fan + DNA"; she explained how she proved 4 generations in a female line without any documents that identified parents or siblings. That is an impressive accomplishment! I then attended Thomas W. Jones' lecture "When Does Newfound Evidence Overturned a Proved Conclusion?" I also finally met my friend Maddie in person. I then went to the FGS luncheon "Lincoln Lives," where Curt B. Witcher spoke about the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection. After lunch, I heard Mary Stansfield speak about Missouri State Penitentiary and Algoa Intermediate Reformatory records. With all the black sheep in my family, I couldn't miss the prison records lecture! I also couldn't miss Elaine Helgeson Hasleton's talk "Scandinavians in the Midwest," since I am more than a third Scandinavian (equal amounts Swedish and Norwegian). In the evening, I attended the National Genealogical Society Banquet. It was a long and busy day, but a good one. The conference is going by so fast!

NGS 2015: Day 2

Day 2 of NGS 2015 didn't get off to a good start when I got up later than I had planned, but I made it to the St. Charles Convention Center in time for the second lecture period, and heard Baerbel K. Johnson speak about German marriage records, laws, and customs. I learned so much from this session! Next, I heard Teresa Steinkamp McMillin speak about German farm names. I have not yet come across any German ancestors who used farm names, but it is possible that someday I will. At the Palatines to America luncheon, Warren Bittner spoke about the Palatines, German history, and German territorial pride. After lunch, I attended Patti Hobbs' lecture "Opening the Ozarks: The Legacy of Marsha Hoffman Rising." Marsha Hoffman Rising's book The Family Tree Problem Solver taught me so much about genealogical research; I began to consider things that I might not have thought about otherwise. Marsha helped to make me the researcher that I am today, so I wanted to hear more about her work. I then heard Sean Visintainer talk about steamboats in the nineteenth century. My 3rd-great-grandfather John Bennet Winters was a fireman on boats, and was also a watchman (probably on boats as well). This session gave me so much insight into his experiences. Finally, I heard Bryan McGraw talk about the military and civilian personnel records at the National Archives at St. Louis. It turned out to be a fabulous day!

NGS 2015: Day 1

Today was the first day of the 2015 National Genealogical Society Family History Conference in St. Charles, Missouri. The day started off with keynote speaker J. Mark Lowe, who spoke in character as Charles Floyd. At the end of the presentation, after watching a video of eagles flying, a special guest came out: Lewis, a bald eagle from the World Bird Sanctuary. What a beautiful bird!

I then headed over to the exhibit hall and did some shopping. Maia's Books always has such a great selection!

At 11:00 AM, I heard John Dougan speak about Missouri Digital Heritage. I then attended the GSG/ISFHWE luncheon, where Judy Russell spoke about "The Rest of the Story."  After lunch, I heard Baerbel K. Johnson speak about German digital libraries. I am very interested in exploring some of the resources that she talked about! I then attended Ann Carter Fleming's lecture "St. Louis 250+." Finally, I heard Jordan Jones and Patricia Walls Stamm talk about the cloud-based courses offered by the National Genealogical Society. It was a great first day!

German Studies: Understanding German Records and Methodology

I am in St. Charles, Missouri for the National Genealogical Society 2015 Family History Conference. Today I attended the St. Louis Genealogical Society's seminar German Studies: Understanding German Records and Methodology. At the beginning of the seminar, Baerbel K. Johnson, AG spoke about finding a German ancestor's town of origin. Next, F. Warren Bittner, CG, spoke about German, historical maps and territories. Then Carol Whitton, CG, spoke about German archives. After lunch, Baerbel Johnson spoke about solving German research problems, and used case studies as examples of how they have been successfully solved. Finally, Warren Bittner gave us an overview of German history. A syllabus was included, so I will be able to review the material that was presented. I am 1/4 German, so I found the seminar very interesting!