Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

Why do you do genealogy research?

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What’s your why? In our podcast Getting to Good Enough, my co-host, Shannon Wilkinson, and I frequently talk about the importance of knowing why you want to do something. Taking a moment to focus on that why can help you make decisions about how you want to spend your time, money and energy.

So sometimes I think about why I do genealogy research. Why do I spent countless hours and, face it, quite a bit of money ancestor hunting? I do it for the fun of it. I absolutely love playing detective. I love getting to know my ancestors. (And I love getting to know the people I’ve met through being a genealogist.) I even love organizing my research. The whole kit and caboodle is my idea of fun.

I don’t have kids, so I’m not doing this for my descendants. I’m doing it for me. I hope that my research will outlive me, but I’m okay with it if it doesn’t. But I think that might make me atypical.

So I’m curious: Why do you do genealogy research? Please share in the comments!

Who’s going to Midwestern Roots?

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The Midwestern Roots Family History and Genealogy Conference, sponsored by the Indiana Historical Society, is being held next weekend (July 19-20) in Indianapolis. I’ll be there. Are any of you planning to attend? I’ll be driving with my friend Vickie, whom I met through this blog. I’m always thrilled to meet blog readers at conferences!

I attended the 2016 Midwestern Roots conference and thought it was terrific. It was very robust, with lots of great educational opportunities.

This year looks like it’s going to be equally good. I’m excited to hear Joshua Taylor speak, both as a keynote and in breakout sessions. I didn’t get the chance to hear him at the NGS conference because of competing priorities. (I’ll never forget the time I heard him speak at the Genealogy Society of Southern Illinois conference five years ago and discovered we were cousins. I told that story in this blog post.)

I’ve downloaded the syllabus and saved it to both Evernote and my hard drive. (If you’re registered, the password to access the syllabus was emailed to you on July 3 in a message with the subject line “Midwestern Roots 2019!”) I’ve also downloaded the app. I love conference apps, which are so much easier for me to look at than a printed schedule. I was glad to see that this conference has one. I love that I can select my sessions now and see a streamlined version of the agenda (as well as the full one) so I’m not making last-minute decisions or fumbling around trying to figure out where I’m going next.

If you’re attending, please let me know if you’d like to meet up. If you’re interested in registering, it looks like there are still spots available. The deadline for registration is Saturday, July 13. Go to the registration page for the conference to buy a ticket. If you’re not able to attend, you might consider following the hashtage #MRoots2019 to see what you’re missing!

Looking forward to next weekend’s Midwestern Roots conference

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On Thursday, I head to Indianapolis for the Midwestern Roots Family History and Genealogy conference. I’m very excited. I see that it’s sold out! I’m sure it will be a stimulating, educational experience. I love conferences in general and especially love  genealogy conferences. I haven’t been to one in almost a year, so I feel past due!

The syllabus was posted yesterday and I just checked it out. I’m all the more excited! It looks like a terrific program. I see that there are a couple of sessions that will help me make the most of my week-long research trip to the Allen County Public Library next week. I’m so happy about that.

I saved the PDF of the syllabus to Evernote for easy access during the conference on my computer and phone, so I feel like I’m all set. (Hint for people who have registered: The password to open the syllabus is in the reservation acknowledgement email, with the subject line “IHS Confirmation.” It took me a minute to find it so I thought I’d save you the trouble.)

When I registered, I posted here and heard from a few readers who are also attending. I’ll be getting in touch this week to arrange to get together. If you’re attending and you’d like to meet (and we haven’t already communicated about it), please leave a comment or send me an email.

I’m very excited about this learning opportunity. And I look forward to multiplying the benefit by meeting readers of this blog!

Raise your hand if you’re going to Midwestern Roots 2016!

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Two years ago, I had planned to attend the Midwestern Roots Family History and Genealogy Conference in Indianapolis. But then I had a work conflict that meant I had to cancel. (I had to lead a team to unpack and organize a beloved client’s new home and the movers did not care about my schedule!) At that time, I was thrilled that several Organize Your Family History readers were planning to attend and hoped to meet them.

This year I hope to have no such conflicts. I have registered for the conference, which will be held July 15 and 16. It looks like a terrific conference. I’m especially glad to be able to go, since I made the tough decision not to attend the National Genealogical Society’s conference this year, which is being held this week in Ft. Lauderdale. It’s too close to my annual organizers’ conference and I didn’t want to be away from home that much this month. (That turned out to be a great decision as we subsequently decided to remodel our kitchen and demolition starts this week. I need to be home to share the misery with my husband.)

If you’re planning to go Midwestern Roots and would like get together for coffee or sit together at a session, let me know. (I promise not to pressure you to become my BFF.) Just leave a comment and I’ll contact you via email or just email me through the Contact form. I posted a similar note before I went to RootsTech for the first time and ended up starting a wonderful friendship with Lori Krause, who reads this blog.

I’m really excited about attending the conference and learning so much. Getting to meet a blog reader or two would be icing on the cake!

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When you first join the list, I’ll send you a few emails to help you organize your family history. After that you’ll hear from me at the end of every month when I send an email with links to that month’s posts. And every now and then, I’ll let you know when I have something special to promote.