Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

Black History Collection free at Fold3 this month

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Fold3 Black History Collection free in FebruaryI’m a little late to the game on this, but there are ten days left in February. I just became aware that the Black History Collection at Fold3.com is available to all (subscribers or non-subscribers) this month. It includes over a million photos and documents from five eras (more information here):

  • Slave records
  • The Civil War
  • Reconstruction & Jim Crow Laws
  • World War I & II
  • The Civil Rights Movement

If you have African American ancestors this might be a great opportunity to learn new things about them! If you’re interested in black history this looks like a rich collection.

Tempted by the NGS research trip to Ft. Wayne

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I received an email this week from the National Genealogical Society about their August research trip to the Allen County Public Library, in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I have to say, I’m tempted.

I haven’t been able to focus on my genealogy research this year as much as I’d like. I didn’t go to RootsTech this year, though I intend to attend the NGS Family History Conference in May in Ft. Lauderdale. I love conferences; the education I receive at them is valuable. But I typically don’t get any research done at conferences and when I get home I have to get back real life (i.e. my family and my organizing business). And then it takes me awhile to apply the new-found knowledge in my research.

But a research trip facilitated by professional genealogists and held at a renowned records repository could be amazing. I see it as a way to jump start my research, find new sources of information, get personalized expert assistance (very exciting!) and perhaps take my research to another level.

And I know I would love anticipating and preparing for the trip. That’s always very enjoyable for me.

NGS also offers research trips to Washington, D.C. and Salt Lake City. Both of those sound wonderful too, but the Indiana trip feels easier and less intimidating. It’s also driving distance from my home in St. Louis. And more affordable.

I’m going to talk to my husband about it this weekend and perhaps sign up.

Have you ever attended and organized research sponsored by NGS or any other entity? Was it worthwhile? I’d love to hear from you!

Registration open for NGS conference

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Registration is now open for the National Genealogical Society’s 2016 conference! It will be held May 4-7 in Ft. Lauderdale. I attended the 2015 conference and was very impressed by the quality of the sessions I sat in on. I’m planning to attend this year’s conference and am really looking forward to it.

For the past two years, I’ve attended RootsTech and have enjoyed it as well, though I found the enormity (15,000 or more attendees) a bit overwhelming. This year, it’s being held February 3-6 in Salt Lake City. I decided not to attend because we have a new puppy and I don’t want to saddle my husband with all the work. (Plus, I’d miss Bix, my puppy!) I hope to get back to RootsTech in 2017.

I’m also giving serious consideration to attending the Southern California Genealogical Society’s Genealogy Jamboree once again. I loved it last year. It will be held June 3-5 in Burbank, California.

Do you attend genealogy conferences? Which conferences will you attend this year? If you’re planning to be at NGS or the Jamboree, please let me know in the comments!

SCGS webinars: The deal of the century

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I live in Missouri. California barely makes an appearance in my genealogy. Yet I’m a happy member of the Southern California Genealogical Society (SCGS). Why? Because of their amazing educational opportunities, available and pertinent to all.

SCGS offers twice-monthly webinars from big names in genealogy. For $35 a year, I became a member so that I could watch the webinars on demand. But here’s the great thing: You can watch the webinar for free, if you watch it being streamed live. However, you must register in advance. To do that, go to the webinars page, then click on the title of the webinar you’re interested in. That will take you to a registration page.

On Saturday, November 7, Cyndi Ingle (of Cyndi’s List fame) will be presenting Building a Digital Research Plan at 10 am Pacific time. Here’s a description of that webinar:

Using Internet databases and catalogs we will build a research plan to answer a specific research question. We will walk through the process of planning, researching for the plan, and keeping track of what has been researched.

I think that sounds tremendous (it’s right up my alley). If you invest $35 a year to be a member, you can view the webinar any time you want and you can also view archived webinars. You could have your own mini-genealogy conference in the comfort of your home.

Speaking of conferences, SCGS sponsors the Genealogy Jamboree in June in Burbank, California. I attended in 2015 and it was excellent. The webinar series is an extension of the Jamboree.

I am so grateful that the SCGS offers resources to folks all over the world. Membership truly feels like the deal of the century!