FGS2010

Genealogy Research in Federal Prison Records

7 January 2011 Research

One of the classes I attended at FGS was “Federal Prison Records: Atlanta, Leavenworth, Alcatraz, and McNeil.”  The course was presented by Maureen Hill, Archives Specialist at the National Archives at Atlanta. I have a couple of people in my family tree that spent several years in federal prison in the 1890’s.  Although they were [...]

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The Genealogical Proof Standard in Action

20 December 2010 And More

One of the classes I attended at FGS was “The Genealogical Proof Standard in Action!” presented by Elizabeth Shown Mills.  This is probably the class that I looked forward to the most and it did not disappoint. She started out with an overview of sound research practices and the GPS. Credible proof requires: thorough research [...]

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Planning Reasonably Exhaustive Research

13 December 2010 And More

Does anyone besides me get overwhelmed when thinking about “reasonably exhaustive” research?  What exactly is reasonably exhaustive?  How much is enough?  When do you stop? I attended a great lecture at FGS, by Tom Jones, that addressed these issues.  As the title says, the lecture focused on “Planning Reasonably Exhaustive Research,” so, of course, it [...]

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Essential Skills for Transcribing

10 December 2010 Research

Following are some of my notes from the lecture “Essential Skills for Transcribing and Abstracting,” presented by Linda Woodward Geiger at FGS. Information should be collected efficiently, accurately, and dispassionately. The source is scrupulously acknowledged.  Put the citation on the front of documents, not the back, and add to metadata of digital copies. Photocopies, printouts, [...]

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Genealogy Research Strategies

20 September 2010 Research

The second session that I attended at the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2010 Conference was “Advanced Web Methods & Sources,” presented by Karen Clifford, AG®, FUGA.  The description for this session was: “When name searching online isn’t enough, focus on the missing elements of a person’s identity. Then use key web sources to find those [...]

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Looking for Southern Vital Records

17 September 2010 Research

These are some of my notes from the presentation “ ‘Wanted Dead or Alive!’ Looking for Southern Vital Records” that I attended at the 2010 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference.  The lecture was presented by Russell P. Baker.  This is not intended to be a transcript or even a synopsis of the lecture, but rather [...]

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FGS 2010 – Day 4

22 August 2010 And More

Yesterday was the last day of the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2010 conference.  I threw my planned schedule out the window and started over. The first class I attended was “Digitizing the Records in the Granite Mountain.”  This was very interesting.  I’ve always been impressed by the work done by the Church of Jesus Christ [...]

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FGS 2010 – Day 3

20 August 2010 And More

My first class today was “Essential Skills for Transcribing and Abstracting.”  This was an very good class.  I learned a number of new skills and guidelines.  (By the way, I’ll be posting more complete descriptions of each class I attended – unless the presenter requested no blogging – in the coming weeks). My next class [...]

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FGS 2010 – Day 2

19 August 2010 And More

My day started with a walk across to Starbucks before heading into the Keynote Session for the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2010 Conference. The Keynote began with a presentation of the colors.  This was one of my favorite parts.  The flags were brought in by a color guard in colonial dress, complete with tricorn hats.  [...]

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FGS 2010 – Day 1

18 August 2010 And More

I arrived in Knoxville about 4:00 this afternoon.  I checked in at my hotel, then walked across World’s Fair Park to the Knoxville Convention Center and checked in for the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference. A little later, I joined Melissa Corley, Amy Coffin, Thomas McAntee, and Tina Lyons and her hubby for drinks at [...]

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