Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

NARA 2019 Virtual Genealogy Fair is tomorrow!

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This one really snuck up on me.

The 2019 Virtual Genealogy Fair is being offered (free of charge) by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) tomorrow, Wednesday, October 23, 2019. This is the seventh year for the conference, offered by webcast on YouTube. It’s a wonderful resource.

You can read the lineup, with detailed descriptions of the sessions and links to handouts, here. Just click on each session title to access the handouts. There will be six one-hour sessions, bookended by opening and closing remarks. The event starts at 10 am eastern and ends at 4.

I’m traveling tomorrow, so I was thrilled to read that I don’t have to watch live. The webcast will be available on YouTube to watch later. You can even request transcripts of the sessions, taken from the closed captioning.

While you’re on the 2019 Virtual Fair webpage, scroll down to access links to prior Virtual Genealogy Fairs sponsored by NARA. Those are available to watch as well!

Talking about downsizing on Generations Cafe

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I was so happy to be interviewed once again for Amy Johnson Crow’s  podcast, Generations Cafe. It’s a great podcast and I look forward to each new episode.

This week, Amy kicks off a series on downsizing, based on her recent experience in moving her parents from their home of many decades into a smaller space. In this week’s episode, called Downsizing and Family History, we talked at length about how it can be tricky for genealogists to decide what to let go of when they recognize the potential genealogical value of items for future generations.

The intersection of my work as an organizer and my passion as a genealogist is one of my favorite places to spend time, so I really enjoyed this opportunity to talk with Amy. (If you want to learn a little about how Amy organizes her own family history research, check out her How They Do It interview on this blog from July 2017.)

If you’re not already listening to Generations Cafe, I urge you to subscribe. If you’re new to podcasts, Generations Cafe is a great first genealogy podcast to subscribe to! The podcast showcases Amy’s clear-eyed view of genealogy and her excellent communications skills.

So glad to be a tiny part of it!

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!

It’s my 7th blogiversary!

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Seven years ago today, I published my first post on this blog. It was called My quest to learn more about my family history. In seven years, it’s been viewed a grand total of 62 times. (By contrast, Wednesday’s post on organizing learning resources has been viewed more than 800 times in two days.)

When I started the blog, I had no idea what would become of it. I knew I had the discipline and skill to blog, because I’d had an organizing blog for six years by then. I sensed that blogging about genealogy organizing would help me figure out how to integrate genealogy with my organizing business and would give me some accountability so that I would spend more on time on genealogy. I loved doing the research, I just always found things that seemed more important to do.

This blog has become than I ever imagined and I’m so grateful. Today seems like a good day to take stock of the many things I’m grateful to Organize Your Family History for bringing me.

How this blog has enhanced my life:

  • I’ve learned so much from my readers! I’ve been fortunate to have such engaged readers who provide lots of great advice and input in the comments. And everyone is so kind. Thank you!
  • Some readers have become in-person friends. I’ve done so meet ups at genealogy conferences and that’s always a treat.
  • I research more often. I’m confident that without this blog I would not research as much. My 30 x 30 challenges, in particular, really keep focused on the research.
  • I’m a better researcher. Because I’m researching more often, attending conferences, and benefiting from the wisdom of my readers, I’m most assuredly a better researcher than I was seven years ago and probably a better one than I would be today without the blog.
  • I’ve become acquainted with some well-known genealogists, which is always a treat. Through my How They Do It series, as well as Family Tree University webinars and just attending conferences, I’ve gotten to know some folks I admire
  • I’ve even made some money! I sell my Orderly Roots Guides and The Paperless Genealogy Guide (with Brooks Duncan) and I’ve earned some money through speaking, writing and consulting. I feel so fortunate for that!

I want to thank you, my readers, for coming along on this seven-year ride and for being such a big part of it. I can’t wait to find out what the upcoming year brings!