27 Sep 2008 I am speaking at the Minnesota Heritage Education Commission 33rd Annual Genealogy Conference at Minnesota State University. If you live within driving distance of Moorhead MN, this is your personal invitation, from me, to attend. I will also have a booth in the exhibit area where the majority of my own publications will be available. If you see a Utah pick-up truck on the road–HONK.
These Are My topics: (newly updated in 2008)
- American Church Records: Religious Belief dictates the records created and preserved by church congregations. This session examines how to locate, search, and use the many kinds of church records available in print, on microfilm, on CD-Rom, and on the internet. If you have hard-to-find ancestors, a NEW research strategy will allow you to use the “internal evidence links” to trace and prove family relationships.
- Arm-Chair Genealogical Research: Or, Getting the Most for Your Research Dollar Without Leaving Home–especially with $4.50 gasoline. Here are your options: photocopy services, interlibrary loan (including the Family History Library and the National Archives), using a field research agent efficiently, getting answers to your questions by postal mail and email, quick-search services, telephone research, co-op document ordering, genealogy data exchanges, internet search screens, and many more. Professional genealogists do it and so can you! Also addressed: how to find cousins currently unknown to you and getting photos of your place of origin.
- Tracing the Ladies on Your Pedigree: Ladies are 50% of your genealogy challenge. How to find sources peculiar to women, how to identify maiden surnames, how to discover remarried surnames (some ancestors have married up to 5 husbands and had children with them all), and where to look when records don’t list parents. Women’s occupations will be discussed in detail–the census enumerator almost always lied! Insights on Father-daughter relationships, Gold-Star Mothers, DAR Grandmother projects, and why your ancestor’s place of burial is essential!
- Evaluating Genealogical Evidence: This session concentrates on the evidence in genealogy records–with a practical demonstration so you can recognize the “hidden ancestors” in almost every record category. Whenever there are more than one person with the same name, the same age, living in the same place, and married to the same spouse (Yikes), you will have “hidden ancestors” in those records. Also discussed–resolving discrepancies, “slips of the tongue” evidence, family traditions, and how to cope with record-source failure.
My personal message in all of these sessions: The internet is just one media where genealogy can be found. Some of the old research methods and strategies work best when you have a difficult genealogy problem to resolve. Unless your internet data is facsimile, without alteration and sometimes without enhancement, your ancestor may still remain hidden and hard-to-find if you ignore the evidence in these presentations.
In Memoriam.
Word of the death of Elizabeth Sharp, who helped establish the Immigrant Genealogical Library with her own extensive collection, came this last week. She passed away in the Virgin Islands where she has lived for many years. Elizabeth was so gracious to me when I was a genealogy newbie in foreign genealogy sources trying to pick my way through German script. She taught me how to study each separate letter in the word and the way the clerk varied letters that could be easily misread.
The Immigrant Genealogical Library is located at 1310-B West Magnolia Blvd, Burbank CA. Mailing address: P.O. Box 7369, Burbank CA 91510-7369.
Incidentally, I will speak to the combined Immigrant Genealogical Society and the Pommern Group the 2nd Sunday in January 2009–11 Jan 2009. Topic still to be decided. This is the society’s regular combined meeting and it is held at the Library. It is such a treat to visit that amazing library. Since seating may be limited, be sure to reserve your spot early if you plan to attend. Your favorite genealogist, Arlene Eakle http://www.arleneeakle.com