Your Travelers Are Home and Brimming with Ideas

Your very own genealogy travelers are home again.  We just wrapped up our three-day intensive in Arlington and are brimming with tips and ideas.  To set the scene: we had nine sessions by the keynote speakers and six sessions where we could pick one of five offerings. 

Two sessions drew me in.  Their message was: “Get with the program and clean up your family tree!!!”?  What drew me in? They knew what I needed most.  A good talking to.

CeCe Moore stole the show.  She delivered three keynote sessions plus a banquet talk and an advanced 3-hour workshop.  She moves us ahead in with her ideas, skills and ethics.  Hear more tomorrow.

I can’t guess what other topics attendees will be bringing to our Genies meeting tomorrow but I guarantee it will be varied and I expect there will be tips you can go to work on. 

If you have been learning or traveling, you are warmly invited to speak as well. 

As usual I have been thinking about education.  Conferences are great and I find myself listening to talks about things I never had any idea about.  This latest NWGC conference seemed to focus on history, including migration patterns from Europe and Great Britain, from the ship landings down the Shenandoah Valley, from everywhere out to Missouri and beyond.  I even went to a class about 11 great U.S. financial panics and the raw emotion they evoked in our ancestors.  It broadened my view in an unexpected way.

My next step is to identify specific areas I need to learn more about.  These won’t be your areas but they are mine:  research methodology, Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS), Roots Magic, and maybe others.   How will I do that?  I have found a mother-daughter team that has written a book, blogs, and podcasts called “Research Like a Pro”.  The mother Diana Elder is an Accredited Genealogist and she created a 6-step research process.  I’m following their podcasts which are going step-by-step through the process.  This would be good for anyone.  See here:  https://familylocket.com/research-like-a-pro-part-1-whats-your-question/  and there is a tab for the podcasts.

I also want to point out the Southern California Genealogical Society webinars.  They have two every month that are free for the live broadcast and recorded for members only.  (Note that they would love for you to join.)   I’ll be tuning in on Sep 1 for research plans and Oct 6 for GPS. The schedule for the rest of the year is here:  http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/webinar/jes-index.html

If you haven’t heard of GPS, the genealogical proof standard, it’s because I didn’t want to scare you away.  I have found that stretching for education is what moves me ahead and you can do it too.

I’m eager to see you at the Ferndale Library tomorrow 1-3:30. Setup starts at 12:30. 

Bye for now.