#FGS2015 Registration Deadline: ACT NOW!

I received this press release today from the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) regarding their upcoming 2015 Conference in Salt Lake City. I hope that you will join FGS, and me!, for what is sure to be a not-to-miss, once-in-a-lifetime event. And hey! Maybe you could come to one of my lectures? 

For Immediate Release
January 9, 2015

2015 FGS Conference Early registration discount Ends January 23

January 9, 2015 – Austin, TX. The early registration discount for the 2015 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference ends January 23. Early registrants pay $159 for the full four days. The online registration price increases to $189 after January 23. The cost to add-on RootsTech remains $39. Register now to pay the lowest registration price.

The FGS 2015 conference will be held February 11–14, 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah in conjunction with RootsTech. Visit www.FGSconference.org to learn how those two conferences will operate while sharing the Salt Palace Convention Center and to find out about sessions, speakers, luncheons, and special events. If you have already registered, log in to your account at FGSconference.org to purchase luncheon tickets.

Subscribe to the FGS Voice blog at www.voice.fgs.org and FGS social media channels (links available at www.FGSconference.org) to keep up with the latest news and announcements about the 2015 conference.

See you in Salt Lake City in February.

About the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS)

The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) was founded in 1976 and represents the members of hundreds of genealogical societies. FGS links the genealogical community by helping genealogical societies strengthen and grow through resources available online, FGS Forum magazine (filled with articles pertaining to society management and genealogical news), and Society Strategy Series papers, covering topics about effectively operating a genealogical society. FGS also links the genealogical community through its annual conference -- four days of excellent lectures, including one full day devoted to society management topics. To learn more visit http://www.fgs.org.

Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FGSgenealogy), Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/FGSgenealogy) and on our blog at (http://voice.fgs.org).

#####

Contact:       

Federation of Genealogical Societies
PO Box 200940
Austin, TX 78720-0940
phone: +1 (888) 347-1500
fax: +1 (866) 347-1350
office@fgs.org

Setting the stage for success

In February, 2015, I will be traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah for the combined FGS and Rootstech conference. I am thrilled to have the chance at a bit of research at the Family History Library along with the conference activities. This is my version of pre-planning for this research adventure. 

#FGS2015 is right around the corner.

Believe it or not, February will be here before most of us can blink. There is much to do before this once in a lifetime event, and many attendees will be making sure that they get quality research time in at the Family History Library. I'm one of those folks. 

Admittedly, the library will be crowded. Like no-room-to-sit, 15-people-in-every-aisle, staff-run-ragged busy. Imagine this incredible library filled with people, and then realize that every one of them have computers, binders, notebooks, bags, and all the other "stuff" most of us take into a research facility. Then pile on heavy winter jackets, hats, mittens, and scarves. A lot of people, a lot of stuff. This equates, in my mind, to preparation. In order for me to be successful, I need to be ready as soon as I walk in the door. 

Last year when I attended, I was able to stay after the conference and spend two full days in the Library. That was fantastic... but I don't think I'm going to have that luxury this year. I also learned last year that although I felt very prepared with my research goals in hand, I was simply not prepared enough. I was still successful - I found some great material that has helped me considerably in my research. However, I could have done more. 

Changing Tactics

In 2014, I used Evernote to log my research at the library. It worked, to a point. I needed a better set up for inputting search results, and tracking my progress. I would have benefited a great deal from reading through Cyndi Ingle's Evernote for Every Genealogist blog, and using her advice to create a better template. Evernote is a great tool, and I use it daily, but the other realization I had was that it didn't work for me in that environment (at least, not in the way I had it set up). 

Moving to Excel

I have found that Excel is such an amazing tool for genealogy, and I have used it in several other research projects and in a variety of ways to organize my data. I decided that for 2015, I needed to go back to what I was comfortable with, instead of trying to learn enough about Evernote to make it work. I'm creating a template specifically for research in the FHL, so I can pull it out for any project, any time. 

The template will include the following:

• Tabs for each primary surname I am researching. 
• Columns for key elements.
• A column for prioritization, so that I can quickly sort and organize my data based on what is most important for me. 

Some of the other benefits of using Excel in this way include the fact that I can sort by location, or by ancestor. 

Screenshot of my Excel research log. 

As of right now (and always subject to change) the column headings include: 

1. Priority
2. Film #
3. Item #
4. Collection Title
5. Objective
6. Individual
7. Location
8. Year (if known)
9. Other Parties
10. Objective Met? (Y/N)
11. Notes
12. Citation
13. FamilySearch Link

Putting together my list is actually fairly simple, thanks to a tip I picked up from D. Joshua Taylor a few months ago. His suggestion was to maintain a running list of resources I want or need to pursue at any of the major genealogy libraries around the country. You never know when you might have the opportunity to research at the DAR library in Washington DC, or the Allen County Public LIbrary Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, for example. Life happens fast, so these unexpected research trips may not leave you with a great deal of time to prep. If you have the running list handy, you can take advantage of these random moments of genealogy heaven. I took this advice to heart; and since I travel a lot more these days due to my work with Findmypast, I thought it was a great idea. Therefore, I have a running list of film's to look at the Family History Library (ironically, I keep this list in Evernote!). All of this means that all I need to do is transfer the information to my spreadsheet, and I'm good to go. 

One thing I will be missing this year, more than anything else, is my research partner. Last year, my daughter was able to spend a day at the Library with me, and we had a marvelous day together exploring our history. She was only four years old at the time, and really got excited exploring the microfilm, the stacks, using the reader's, and seeing the museum style displays around the library. Unfortunately, she won't be joining me in Salt Lake City again this year. 

My daughter, selecting film at the Family History
Library, February, 2014. 

My Commitment to PERSI

You may have noticed (and by the comments and questions coming in via social media, many of you have) that I have been working with the PERSI index quite a bit lately. I made a commitment to myself, and to PERSI, that I would learn to utilize this resource. Is it strange to make a commitment to an index? Perhaps. But I've done it anyway

(Unfamiliar with PERSI? Check out my recent blog post, "Applause! Cheers! Whistles!" on what I learned about PERSI during RootsTech.)

Over the course of the last fifteen years or so, as I've been actively engaged in the obsession that is genealogy, I have occasionally tried to use PERSI through the previous host, HeritageQuest. I've tried, and I've failed. Why? Because I never took the time to really understand what it was, or how it worked. Now that I know better, I'm having a grand old time making all sorts of discoveries! I've been sharing these on my business Facebook page, Ancestral Journeys, and through my Twitter feed, albeit in a more abbreviated fashion. (If you haven't already liked or followed me on Facebook, I'll go ahead and put in the plug for myself: would you do it now? I would greatly appreciate it, and thank you in advance.)

Some of the items I've looked up have just been random whatever-I-think-of-in-the-moment type pieces. Some have been intentional, done with a specific goal or research question in mind. Either way, I am learning more and more how to finesse the system to my benefit. As findmypast.com adds more images to the PERSI collection, I'll be ready to investigate, and will be a pro at utilizing their search platform before the publications I am most interested in come online.

And that is the commitment I made to myself. During Curt Witcher's talk at RootsTech, he was so jazzed up about the material you can find there, that I promised myself I would use it. Regularly and often. When I got home, I decided to look up at least one article every day, five days out of the week. Admittedly, I've missed a few, but three weeks' worth of illness will slow down just about anybody. I'm getting back on track with my health (finally!) and that means I'm getting back on track with my commitment to PERSI, too.

Here's a few of the articles I have found so far:

• "Jamestown Baking Oven of 1600s" published in the William and Mary Quarterly Historical Magazine (Vol 17, Issue 4, Oct 1937).
• "Newcastle H.S. Band Members, ca. 1925" published in Bits and Pieces (Weston, Wyoming, Vol 5, Issue 6, 1969) - as a devoted band member growing up, this one caught my attention for sure! 
• "Best Martin, aka Lena Martin, is Exposed as a Woman in Prison" published in Nebraska History (Vol 90, Issue 1, Spring 2009). 
• "Danville Hist. Excerpt, Gazetteer of State, 1804" published in the Steuben Echoes (Steuben, New York, Mar 1995 issue).

Not just articles, but images too. In one 1912 issue of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Record, I found several family crests. I did not keep them all, just enough to remind me of the great material available through PERSI. If you refer to my post listed above, you will see that I've also been able to locate maps, charts and tables and photographs of various individuals.  

Family Crest, found in a 1912 New York Genealogical and Biographical Record,
via PERSI, on findmypast.com

I would invite you to take a look at the PERSI index now on findmypast.com. The material there may just surprise you. 

Disclaimer: 

I work for findmypast.com. However, I was not asked to write this post, I am not being paid to write this post, and will not benefit in any way at all from this post… other than just sharing the great news about PERSI with my readers. 

Applause! Cheers! Whistles!

I’ll be honest, sitting in a session at RootsTech is not where I expected to hear all of that. But I did, and it was brilliant!


I had a great week at RootsTech, and although I was unable to attend a large quantity of sessions due to other commitments, one that I did get to was Curt Witcher’s talk on PERSI, “PERSI 3.0 The Next Generation of the Periodical Source Index”. I had never seen Mr. Witcher speak before, and that was a treat all on its own; he was full of energy and excitement, and it was absolutely contagious. His subject matter, the recently announced partnership between the Allen County Public Library and findmypast.com, and the progress of how the PERSI project is developing and the goals they have for it, was certainly enough for me to jump up and down. (And I would have, but I was sitting in the very front, and didn't think it was perhaps the most professional thing to do...)


Here’s the scoop.


PERSI, or Periodical Source Index, was created just over twenty years ago by ACPL so that researchers would have a searchable resource for the wonderful articles published on a local level in society and organization newsletters and publications. Good idea, right? If you are not a member of a particular society, you can use the index to determine if anything was ever written about a family line of interest or just about anything else. Very smart.


The project got big – 2.5 million entries big – and although ACPL has other partners in the past, this one with findmypast.com is unique. It is unique because of two key elements: 1) findmypast.com has committed to updating the index every quarter beginning in 2014 (did you know that the index we've all been using forever was last updated in 2009? I didn't, so learning that findmypast.com has already updated the index through 1 Jan 2014 was a big step in the right direction right from the get-go), and 2) findmypast.com has a goal of digitizing all of these articles and putting them online for simple click-through access. 


Disclaimer. Yep, right in the middle of my post.

I work for findmypast.com. There were many surprised to find me in findmypast.com blue working the stand at the conference. However, I was not asked to write this post, I am not being paid to write this post, and will not benefit in any way at all from this post… other than just sharing the great news about PERSI with my readers.


These publications simply have so much information in them, from long winded fully researched and cited family genealogies to maps to cemetery transcriptions. The possibilities are really pretty endless here. So the research that is becoming available to us in a more convenient fashion is really engaging and has the potential to provide many of us with a great deal more information on our ancestors and the social history we all love so much.


Where does the cheering come in? Get to the best stuff already! 


It happened when, about 3/4 of the way through his presentation, Mr. Witcher showed the audience that findmypast.com already has over 7000 images online from the New York Genealogical & Biographical Record! What a great moment, and I am so glad I was there to see it, or I might not have believed it. His grin said it all; how awesome was that?

Screenshot: The New York Genealogical & Biographical Record
as seen on findmypast.com.

And I’ll go ahead and say it; it’s pretty awesome to be involved in a company that is willing to take on a project like this and do it right.


Here's a couple more items I found within the PERSI collection, just to tempt you further... and if this doesn't work, let me know what will. I'll find it. Why? Because I know that this resource is incredible, will be extremely valuable to a great many of us, and because flipping through the pages of the NYG&BR is fun!

All above images are screenshots taken from the findmypast.com PERSI collection

#genchat CHALLENGE: the Ultimate Genealogy Tech Tool of the Future!

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it... 

I wasn't even going to do a challenge tonight! Honest! I wasn't! But, the crowd demanded it, and so, it shall be done. Tonight's discussion was based on technology; as the community comes off of the high that is RootsTech, it was an appropriate topic. What did we gain from the conference? What is new, what is out? Are we on "tech overload" or do we just not have the right tools to effectively match our research goals? 

Your challenge today is to imagine the ultimate tech tool of the future. What will it be? What will it look like? 

I have thought often of a "dream software," and tonight, it was given a name: Genealogy Office. My tech tool of the future includes the best of all worlds; it should include the features of... 

• The best genealogy software (including the ability to preserve social history, citations, and more)
• Photography and scanning, photo editing
• Excel
• Word
• Social media connections for sharing
• Blogging platform
• Research log 
• Research plan
• Research trip planning - including a live map with links to Starbucks, my favorite restaurants and nearby libraries and courthouses
• It will connect to all the major free and subscription websites for research tools
• It will connect to BillionGraves, findagrave and any other grave app
• It will bring the best of OneNote (or Evernote, depending on your preference)
• it will include features found in Publisher, Scribner, mind mapping

Essentially, I want one software package that will combine all the software I currently use for genealogy - including websites and apps - into one big system. I don't want to have to open any other program. Ever. (Oh, and it has a voice, like Siri. Kinda.) 

So tell me... what is your dream genealogy tech? 

Share it on social media, in the comments here, however you like; just be sure to include a link so we can all read about it! 

Thanks for accepting the #genchat CHALLENGE! 

RT 1082

“RT 1082.”

Gibberish?

Hardly.


RT1082 is the code assigned to my presentation at RootsTech 2014. I like it. It has an R2D2 ring to it, and that makes me smile.

R2D2. Would't he be cool to have at RootsTech?

Image: Jan SOLO, Wikimedia Commons

I have been looking forward to this adventure for months, and as we get within just days of departure, my anticipation only grows. I have so many people to meet, research to do (yippee!), friends to see again and spend time with, and an entire week of genealogy immersion to enjoy. Without further ado, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my session and those that have agreed to participate in it with me.

“Online Trees: The Root of All Evil?”

This session is a panel discussion, focused on the merits of online trees. It melds together a little bit of me, five panelists, and hopefully an engaged audience that will all come together to create a lively, but also beneficial, conversation regarding the issue of whether or not to place your genealogical research online.


It’s a bit of a hot bed, and I cannot wait to get the discussion going.


After careful planning and consideration, I have invited five people to be on the panel, and I am proud to present them now. In no particular order…

• D. Joshua Taylor, Data Strategy Manager – North America, findmypast.com and President of the Federation of Genealogical Societies.
• Anne Gillespie Mitchell, Senior Producet Manager at Ancestry.com. She is fondly known as "Ancestry Anne"
• Chris Whitten, CEO & Founder of WikiTree
• Laurie Desmarias, Genealogist, Geneablogger at Confusethedead.com and #genchat participant.
• Elissa Scallisse Powell, CG, CGL, Co-Director at GRIP and President of the Board Certification of Genealogists

The session will be conducted on Thursday, February 6, at 2:30 pm in Ballroom A.


I am incredibly pleased to be bringing together a dynamic group of innovators, forward thinkers and leaders in our community for this session. Each of these individuals provides an alternative thought process, a different perspective, and obviously, various backgrounds and experience levels for the conversation to draw from.

I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to thank those that have helped me to get to this point. Speaking at RootsTech has been a goal of mine for some time, and I have had more than one cheerleader on this road.  My wonderful family, my amazing mentor, Kassie Nelson, Rorey Cathcart and Pat Richley-Erickson have been especially helpful, encouraging and are deserving of recognition. 

For those of you who are also attending, I'll see you there! Be sure to connect with me, I love meeting new people. You can tweet me at @ancestryjourney or seek me out some other way. Just be sure to do it! I'm the short girl, with the coffee.

Learn, Over and Over

Image Copyright
Ancestral Journeys, 2012

As genealogists, as researchers  and simply as human beings, one of the most wonderful gifts we can give to ourselves is that of continued learning. The mantra is simple, "don't stop."  Whatever form it comes in, there is always opportunity to learn, learn again and learn some more.

I find myself reading - constantly - on a wide array of topics. My personal library skips through what you would expect: genealogy, history, military references; and then races on with music history, loved children's literature from years past, business and marketing texts, and so much more.


There is something I struggle with though, and that is making time for online education. I do my fair share of reading through blogs, news articles, and other mentions from our friends in social media. However, I'm constantly struggling with making time for webinar's, YouTube video's, Podcast's and tutorials. I know they can help me, and when I do make the time, I always learn something.

I actually really enjoy watching or listening to them. The topics list are varied and for the most part, the presenter's are engaging and entertaining. My to-do list is just sooooo long that I have a hard time convincing myself to stop trying to multi-task and focus on what is being discussed.

As part of my newly developed set of goals, I plan on taking advantage of two of these educational opportunities each month. Starting today.

So, here I'm going to remind you of the incredible set of videos that were made available just a few months ago, from RootsTech 2012. I've seen them all, but many are worth watching again. Take out your notes from this past March, and watch with me. While you're on the site, check out the schedule for next year.

Let me know what you learn today! 

RootsTech 2012

Oh, how I wish I was in Salt Lake City right now. There it is, I said it.

Following the conference via live feeds and social media has been the next best thing. Picked up several things today, and can't wait to get started on them. Here's a few of the highlights, and some items I definitely need to learn more about.

1. Metadata. Whoa.
2. historical-data.org
3. "Data doesn't sit." If you took 400 disks and copied the data onto 400 duplicated discs... 1 would fail every day, and at least 1 identical set would fail every week. How are you storing your data? 
4. Solid state drives... the future of data storage, with no moving parts? 
5. For now, we have cloud computing. 
6. Using the Google toolbar... I will certainly have to use this schematic more.  http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/best-google-search-tips-pdf
7. Did you know you can upload a picture into Google search, and it will find similar images? Try it. Go to Google Images, and in the search bar, there is a small icon of a camera. Use it to upload an image and search. See what happens. 
8. Use the "terrain view" in Google Maps to see the geographical area of where you are researching... may have been easier for them to go one county over to get married, etc., if there were major obstacles in the way.
9. Evernote downloaded today. 
10. Mozy installed today.
11. Looking for an app that will work with my laptop to record interviews then transcribe them for me. Unless of course, I can get a smart phone that will do it for me... 
12. Josh Coates, keynote speaker this morning, was very fun. Best presentation so far for me. Frantically scribbling notes and "tweeting" and trying to stay in my chair from laughing so hard at the same time. Tricky stuff. (You can see the details of the conference at www.rootstech.org.)
13. Can't wait to register for 2013. 
14. Four sessions streamed tomorrow, two of which (at least) I will miss due to other commitments. Certainly going to go back and watch those later in the day. 

A long day, immersed in genealogy, learning, networking and a great deal of mental processing. Ideas were popping in my head so fast, I could barely keep up. The list of bullet points to work on is long, but I'm very much looking forward to it. This is one of the most exciting avenues of our industry, and I'm looking forward to learning more. 

Oh, and "Who Do You Think You Are?" episode 1, season 3, was pretty good tonight, too. 

A Day Off and the First Day

I took the day off today. I didn't touch my computer, log in to Facebook, Twitter, or email until after 2:00pm, and spent some time for myself. It was fun, exhilarating, and rejuvenating to be outside in the sun... but I'm anxious to get back to my research tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the first day of Rootstech 2012, a genealogy conference focusing on advancements in technology and how that works within the genealogy community. Held in Salt Lake City, its a big event, and I'm going to miss it. A little bit bummed about that. I am really hoping I can go next year, it would be a great few months if I could attend Rootstech and then the National Genealogical Society (NGS) conference in the spring in Vegas.

For those that are interested, they are doing a live feed of several of the sessions during the conference. You can see the schedule here: http://rootstech.org/

I'll be catching as many of those as I can. If you can't find me tomorrow, look in front of the computer...