Genealogy, Donny, David, and comedy all wrapped into one in February.

Today's Press Release from the Federation of Genealogical Societies. This means Valentine's Day begins with Keynote Presenter Donny Osmond, followed by fantastic genealogy lectures, and ending with music and comedy. So glad I have already registered for this February 11-14 conference! www.fgsconference.org/.

"American Idol finalist David Archuleta is teaming up with the popular comedy sketch group Studio C from BYUtv to perform at FGS and RootsTech. The two talents will be performing for the Closing Event at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Both will be featuring new original pieces for the event, including a new song written by David Archuleta and a never-before-seen sketch by Studio C. 

David Archuleta has sold more than 1 million albums and earned numerous awards. According to David, this gives him a chance to celebrate his family and the influence they have had on his music. His father was a jazz musician who introduced the family to jazz, as well as gospel, pop, rock, and soul. His family’s heritage and history helped craft Archuleta’s unique style. 

“Music was always a part of my life growing up. My mother was also big on dancing and would teach my older sister and me to dance to traditional music,” he remembers. “I can’t think about celebrating my family without thinking about celebrating music.”

The sketch comedy group Studio C from BYUtv has grown to become a household name for people across the nation of all ages, but especially among teens and millennials. Since its launch in October 2012, its loyal fan base has helped grow the show’s online presence to more than 70 million YouTube views to date. 

David Archuleta and Studio C will be performing for thousands of attendees at the Closing Event on the final day of FGS and RootsTech, February 14, 2015. To reserve your ticket to see David Archuleta and Studio C, register today for FGS 2015"

Reminder about SCGS Jamboree free live-streamed sessions

14 genealogy sessions to watch free in your jammies, on your porch, in your office, or while wearing an evening gown or tuxedo if you wish! The 14 sessions are being presented at the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree and made free online with the support of Ancestry.com.

I hope you can watch them all. I will be presenting one at 4:00 pm. PDT on Friday.  That's 6:00 CDT for my Midwestern family and friends.

FR027 - Friday 4:00PM - Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FUGA - "Manuscript Finding Aids: Locating Migrating Family Records"

Tomorrow, June 5th, is devoted to DNA lectures and there is a fee to watch those from your home. Well worth it, though! I attended the DNA day last year and it was superb. 

A full list of the presentations is here.

2014 FGS Conference Registration is now open!

“Gone to Texas” – A Conference for the Nation’s Genealogists

Online registration is now open for the 2014 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, scheduled 27-30 August 2014 in San Antonio, Texas. Register at www.fgsconference.org by 1 July 2014 for an early-bird discount. This year’s conference theme is “Gone to Texas,” and the local hosts are the San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society (SAGHS) and the Texas State Genealogical Society (TSGS). 

The full program is on the website, plus hotel details, special events, other activities and more in beautiful San Antonio. I have been to Texas many times in the last 30 years but never to San Antonio and I am excited to see the Riverwalk, Alamo, and other places. 

I am a member of the FGS board of directors and love the camaraderie of FGS conferences. By the way, as you will see, the program offers something for family historians at all levels of experience.

The 2014 conference blog may be viewed here: fgsconference.org/blog/

Genealogy articles indexed in PERSI to be digitized?

I love visiting the Genealogy Center at the main Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. My first visit there was in the early 1980s and I have been back there many times. One of the joys of researching there is accessing all those current, older and out-of-print genealogy and historical periodicals that are indexed in the Periodical Source Index (PERSI). This is not an every name index to all articles but a subject index.

For about a year I have known something was afoot about the future of this wonderful resource and now we know something about that. Today's Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne) has a story about the history of PERSI and that all those periodicals may be coming to a computer screen near us! Even better, the plan is to link the index to the actual article.

As the online article states, the index covers about 12,000 periodicals, some of which are no longer published. All hold genealogy gold. "The library’s collection is so big, the index now contains about 2.5 million citations, and ACPL adds about 100,000 more a year."

U.K. based brightsolid is behind this great project.

Read the full story here.

In the meantime, why not do some personal searching in all those periodicals while you attend this year's fantastic genealogy conference in Fort Wayne. I am co-chair of this Federation of Genealogical Societies August 21-24 event. Learn more and register at https://www.fgsconference.org/

Nordic Genealogy Conference in Minnesota: Early Bird Deadline is April 14

If you like to save money, don't forget to register for the discounted rate for the upcoming Nordic Genealogy Conference no later than Sunday, April 14th. The conference will be held in the Fine Arts Building at Inver Hills Community College, located in Inver Grove Heights [suburb of St. Paul] on Friday, April 26th and Saturday, April 27th.      

Friday night includes a dessert social, followed by a presentation by Doug Ohman, photographer of the

Join the FGS 2013 Conference Ambassadors

April 8, 2013 – Genealogy bloggers, societies, writers and editors are invited to participate in the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2013 Conference by becoming FGS 2013 Ambassadors. Ambassadors help to spread information about the FGS 2013 Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana, August 21-24, through social media to their friends, colleagues, and everyone interested in genealogy.

FGS 2013 Ambassadors will be:

• Participating in monthly blogging prompts.
• Writing about the conference on their blog. 
• Using the hashtag #FGS2013 on Twitter.

Student Genealogy Grant Announced

I received this press release yesterday. I look forward to meeting the winner at the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree this June 6-9th in Burbank, California.

Student Genealogy Grant Announced

February 5, 2013 – Do you know a young genealogist who could use $500 toward their family history education and free registration to the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree in June 2013?

The Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Grant Committee is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the 2013 Student Genealogy Grant. In addition, SCGS Jamboree will once again provide the recipient with free three-day registration.

Any genealogist who is between the ages of 18 and 25 and has attended school in the last 12 months is eligible to apply. The recipient must attend the 2013 SCGS Jamboree in Burbank, California to receive the award.

The $500 cash award was established in 2010 in memory of Suzanne Winsor Freeman, family historian and life-long volunteer, and an enthusiastic annual attendee at the SCGS Jamboree.

“The Freeman Student Genealogy Grant pays tribute to these interests by awarding the annual cash grant to a young genealogist attending the SCGS Jamboree, Southern California’s premiere regional genealogy conference,” notes Denise Levenick, committee chair and Freeman’s daughter.

“We are especially grateful to Jamboree for providing a three-day conference registration to the grant recipient,” she adds. “SCGS is truly a leader in conference organizations by encouraging youth involvement in genealogy through the popular Kids Camp program and now through the student grant project.”

Past recipients of the award include Elyse Doerflinger (Lomita, California), A.C. Ivory (Salt Lake City, Utah), and Anthony Ray (Palmdale, California).

Funding for the cash award is provided by the family grant program; Jamboree registration is provided by the conference.

Complete details and application materials are available at The Family Curator, Suzanne Freeman Student Genealogy Grant < http://www.thefamilycurator.com/swf-grant/>. Follow Grant News at www.thefamilycurator.com. Application deadline is 18 March 2013 midnight PST.

For More Information Contact: Denise Levenick, swfgrant@gmail.com.

Suzanne Winsor Freeman Obituary: TheFamilyCurator.com

Give the gift of genealogy education for the holidays!

Did you see the great post about this on the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference News Blog on December 6th. Are relatives asking what you want for Christmas or another day? Do you want to give a special gift to someone else?

A special card has been designed that you can print and add cash, a check, or a promise to for the recipient to use toward the FGS 2013 Conference to be held in Fort Wayne, Indiana August 21-24.

Registration typically opens around February 1st but people have been asking how they can give a conference registration as a gift for one of the holidays in December. This card is the answer!

Read the full details and get the link to the card on the conference blog here.

MGS 2 day family history conference in Minnesota

If you have an interest in family history, you shouldn't miss the 2012 Minnesota Genealogical Society North Star Conference on October 5 & 6. It's being held in Edina, Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb. 

The headline speaker is D. Joshua Taylor and additional sessions will be presented by 12 other speakers. Add vendors, door prizes, silent auction, free parking, and free wi-fi and it's an event you should not miss. You may have seen Josh on episodes of Who Do You Think Your Are? as he helped Sarah Jessica Parker, Ashley Judd, and Rob Lowe with their family history. He is Vice President of Administration for the Federation of Genealogical Societies

The Northland Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists will have a great presence at the conference. The Chapter will have a table in the vendor area and host a Q&A panel on Friday, October 5th, at 5:30 p.m. Both will be great places to get your family history questions addressed, find a professional genealogist to assist you in your search or consult with you, and meet some great chapter members. 

For more info on the conference and registration please visit www.mngs.org. You'll also find details about Josh Taylor and the other speakers.

I'll see you there on both days and at the Friday evening banquet. I am currently President of the Northland Chapter of APG and am presenting two sessions at the conference.

FGS 2012 Birmingham Conference Registration is now open!

January 16, 2012 – Austin, TX. Registration for the 2012 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, scheduled for August 29 - September 1, 2012, in beautiful Birmingham, Alabama, is now open. This year’s conference theme is “Indians, Squatters, Settlers and Soldiers in the ‘Old Southwest’,” and the local host is the Alabama Genealogical Society (AGS).

This year's FGS conference offers an exciting opportunity for anyone interested in researching their family history. Over 175 educational sessions and 13 luncheons are designed to balance the needs of genealogists at all levels, exploring a variety of records, strategies, and other tools available to those interested in researching their family history. Special sessions include a wide variety targeting members and leaders of genealogical and historical societies. In addition, special events, such as the Alabama Genealogical Society Opening Social at the Alabama Theater, the FGS Evening Social at the historic Sloss Furnaces, Spotlight on Societies, and daily sponsored lectures provide an excellent environment to meet and network with others interested in family history and genealogy. Session sponsors include FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, findmypast.com, the National Archives and Records Administration, and others.

Conference Highlights

• Librarian’s Day: On Wednesday, August 29, 2012, ProQuest is sponsoring a full day of sessions designed for librarians, archivists, and other information professionals serving family history researchers.
• Conference Sessions: A wide variety of genealogy-related lectures and workshops for all experience levels.  Topics include Southern research, Settlers and Indians, soldiers, strategies and techniques, technology, and writing.
• Special Events: Include the AGS Opening Social at the Alabama Theater and the FGS Evening Social at the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark—all providing an excellent environment to meet and network with others interested in family history and genealogy. This exciting week of genealogy closes with a Farewell Brunch on Sunday.
• Exhibit Hall: Filled with a wide array of vendors and organizations, Cyber Cafe and lounge area sponsored by RootsMagic, and a special Spotlight on Societies area will showcase local and regional genealogical and historical societies.

There are more activities and research opportunities too numerous to list. However, you can learn all about the 2012 FGS Conference and register for this exciting four-day event at http://www.fgs.org/2012conference. Be sure to also visit or subscribe to the FGS Conference Blog at http://www.fgsconferenceblog.org for more information and travel advice.  We look forward to seeing you in Birmingham in August!

Learn More and Stay Connected

• Visit the Conference News Blog: http://www.fgsconferenceblog.org
• Follow the Conference on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/fgs2012 and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fgs2012
• Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau at http://www.birminghamal.org

This Saturday I'm in Kansas

This Saturday, 22 October, I am privileged to be the seminar speaker for the Johnson County Kansas Genealogical Society's annual event. It takes place at the Lenexa Community Center. I am looking forward to this all-day event. It's a great opportunity for family historians in the greater Kansas City area to get together for some networking, too. I love networking with attendees, too.

The four lectures I will be presenting are:
•    Finding Ancestral Places of Origin
•    A Baker's Dozen: Easy Ways to Begin Writing Your Family History
•    Tho They Were Poor, They May Have Been Rich in Records
•    Newspaper Research: Dailies, Weeklies and Beyond


For more details and location: http://www.johnsoncountykansasgenealogy.org/annual.html

Join me in St. Cloud this weekend!

The St. Cloud Area Genealogists (SCAG) and the Stearns History Museum are hosting a Family History Month event this Saturday, October 15th. The second annual Family History Conference takes place this Saturday, October 15th at the museum from 8:00 a.m. - Noon.

"Robert Torborg will present “Old Family Photos: Their Care and Safety” and Paula Stuart-Warren will lead a program titled “A Baker’s Dozen: Easy Ways to Begin Writing Your Family History.” 

Click here to read the full notice in the St. Cloud Times.

For directions visit the Stearns History Museum website. To reserve your seat, call the Museum at 320.253.8424. The cost is $10.00 for Museum or SCAG members and $15.00 for non-members.

See you there!

Only 3 more days to save $50.00 on FGS Genealogy Conference

If you still haven't registered for the FGS genealogy conference, do it now! Why? 11:59 Friday evening, July 1st, is the end of the discount period. That means your online registration must be completed by 11:59 p.m. (your computer time) or a regular mail registration must be postmarked no later than that time.

Click here to see the full details. 

The FGS registration team for the 2011 conference welcomes your registration after July 1st, but they want to make sure you know about the discounted registration opportunity.

FGS genealogy conference blog update

If you are thinking about registering for the 2011 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference for the Nations' Genealogists you might want to look at all the recent news. The FGS Conference News Blog has been busy lately and many more exciting posts are on the way between now and early September.

The conference takes place in the Land of Lincoln, Illinois -- Springfield to be exact. The dates are September 7-10, 2011. When you look at the conference website, you will see that it's less than 90 days till the conference begins!

Wish for an index to the blog?
Scroll way down and see the "Labels" section in the right hand column

Want to look over the full conference list of sessions?
Click here or here to see two different layouts of the sessions.

FGS Conference News Blog  http://www.fgsconferenceblog.org/
FGS Conference Website  http://fgs.org/2011conference/


Disclosure -- I am the editor of the FGS Conference News Blog and Co-Chair of the 2011 Conference.

FGS Conference early registration deadline

I just returned from several days in Charleston, South Carolina where I was attending the National Genealogical Society Conference. I lectured, shopped, learned, volunteered, networked, laughed, ate, slept a bit, and just basically enjoyed the time.

I am now staying home all summer getting ready for the Federation of Genealogical Societies' 2011 conference that is this September 7-10 in nearby Springfield, Illinois. As full disclosure, I am a member of the board of directors of FGS and the co-chair of the 2011 FGS conference. If you live in the Midwest, this is such a perfect spot. It's the Land of Lincoln and a great place for research and historical siteseeing. Added to that it's an easy place to drive to!

The FGS Office reports that there are already people registered from four countries and the full conference registrations and special event interest is

FGS Conference Update

Just a quick reminder that the deadline for saving $50 off the conference price ends July 1st. It's been ten years since FGS was in my part of the Midwest. I was co-chair then and am co-chair now. We have some wonderful lectures, workshops, special events. special discussion opportunities, and neat door prizes that we will begin telling you about very soon.

Check the FGS Conference News Blog to see the many recent posts including a way to get a refund of some of the registration fee by giving some volunteer time during the conference week.

A reminder of knowledge to be shared

I just returned from the 2011 Ohio Genealogical Society Conference in Columbus, Ohio. I presented three sessions, saw many friends and colleagues, learned some from other attendees, and most of all, came away with a smile.

When I present genealogy lectures I also receive education. As soon as I work on a handout and lecture I know I need to be stating facts. It's not a casual conversation where you can say I think that those birth records begin in 1905 or it seems those probate court records are all still at the courthouse. What if it is actually 1908 for the birth records or that some of the older probate files have been transferred to the state archives. That means double checking the content. Website URLs must be current. The most recent edition of a book needs to be cited unless an earlier edition has something the newer one is missing. That's why some items in a bibliography need to be annotated.When presenting the lecture my PowerPoint slides must be correct.

The education doesn't stop there. One of the great benefits of attending a conference or seminar is the way our minds work off each other's. I usually come away learning about a new book or a cool website from someone in the audience. No one knows it all. Then I sit at lunch or other meal with a couple of colleagues and our conversation becomes one of sharing knowledge and resources. There is something neat about the face to face time. If I am writing about a resource during an IM chat or on Facebook, I may not feel like typing out a full description of an item or giving more than one reference book or website. That's so much easier to do when we are in the same place.

That said, I will see many of you during the rest of this year in Austin, Charleston, Winona, Springfield, and several other places. Check out my schedule in the right hand column. Come prepared to share, that makes it more fun (and of course, educational) for all of us. Plus, the vendor areas are great for browsing and purchasing. I am one of those people who really like to see a book or ask a question of a software developer before I spend money on it.

Early bird discount registration for RootsTech ends Jan. 15th

SALT LAKE CITY—The $99 early bird registration for the RootsTech 2011 Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, ends January 15, 2011. RootsTech is a completely new conference focused on bringing technology creators together with genealogy technology users to learn together and identify solutions to family history research challenges. Genealogists and family historians will discover exciting new research tools while technology creators will learn the latest development techniques from industry leaders and pioneers.

The registration fee includes three full days of conference attendance, conference materials, entry to the Clarke Planetarium dinner event, extended access to the Family History Library, admission to the closing reception event, eligibility for prize drawings, and admission to the Community Zone (exhibition hall).

Registration is open for the 2011 NGS Conference

Registration for the 2011 National Genealogical Society Family History Conference opened yesterday. It will be held in the Charleston Area Convention Center, 5001 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston, South Carolina, 11–14 May. The convention center is conveniently located near the Charleston International Airport (CHS) and is surrounded by a number of hotels with restaurants and outlet stores nearby. Historic Charleston is twenty minutes away via taxi or shuttle service.

Click here for more details and to see the full program.

States where I have lectured

I have presented all-day seminars or lectured at genealogy conferences or institutes in 32 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia. South Carolina is included in that number but that won't be factual until May for the NGS Conference in Charleston.

So far, I have not had the opportunity to do such presentations in 18 states and those are Alabama, Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota (yes, my next door state!), West Virginia, and Wyoming.

No matter where I have spoken, it has been a great experience. People involved in genealogy and history are always so much fun, interesting, and we never run out of things to talk about!