I just love going to genealogy conferences. I try to go to one or more a year. This morning, I signed up for the Missouri State Genealogical Association’s conference August 4 and 5 in Columbia, Missouri. The theme is “Show Me the Way Around the Brick Wall.” Who isn’t interested in that? I have roots in Missouri going back to the mid-19th century, so I’m excited to learn more about Missouri resources.
I’ve never been to this particular conference before and I’m really excited. It’ll be about a two-hour drive for me and I’ll spend Friday night at the conference hotel. I love a genealogy getaway!
Why do I love genealogy conferences so much? For starters:
- They allow me to set aside time away from home to focus on my genealogy research without distraction.
- The learning! When the topics align with my research interests, I’m in heaven. And with this conference, they certainly do.
- I get to meet genealogy enthusiasts like myself.
- I often get to meet readers of this blog. Sometimes they become friends!
- Conferences give me lots of ideas of things to blog about.
- I often learn of new resources in the exhibition hall.
This will be my second conference this year. The first was RootsTech.
Do you go to genealogy conferences? What’s your favorite aspect? If you happen to be planning to attend the MoSGA conference, please let me know in the comments and we can meet up!
It’s been a long time since I’ve attended a genealogy conference in person. But I can certainly relate! And I love conferences that live stream at least some of the sessions these days. The SCGS Genealogy Jamboree, for example. And RootsTech. Do you know of others? (Of course, live streaming is pretty much limited to the Learning category of conference benefits.) Enjoy!
The NGS conference has live-streamed components, though you have to pay for the live-stream. The lectures are archived for limited time and are available to purchasers. I encourage you to go to an in-person genealogy conference, Hazel. There’s so much more you can get out of it than just the lectures.
I have attended many over the years. A bit of advice I was once given is to attend at least one session on a topic that you have no interest in. Surprising what you can learn when you’re out of your usual element!
I love that piece of advice! That’s excellent and I’m going to bear it in mind. Thank you for sharing it, Jan!
Have fun and let us know the good news! I am only in Oklahoma but unfortunately that weekend is taken. I can’t wait to attend a genealogy conference.
I hope you find a great conference to go to soon, Barbara!
Our local genealogical society, the Fairfax (VA) Genealogical Society, holds two conferences a year, a one-day conference in the fall and a two-day conference in the spring. I always try to attend because you do learn so much about different record groups, methodologies, organizational tools, etc. I also have attended several NGS national conferences, which I always find incredibly worthwhile. I usually leave a conference wishing I had started attending them much earlier in my genealogical pursuits. I would be a better researcher and writer if I knew then what I know now.
Lucky you! That’s great that you have a twice-yearly resource like that. Thanks for commenting, Kathy.