It's been a little over a week since the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree 2011 ended. I've been suffering from genealogy information overload as the result of attending two major conferences in a month's time. So, finally, here is my final report on this year's Jamboree.
Nancy Loe, MA, MLS, author of the Sassy Jane Genealogy blog, gave a presentation on using archival materials to a packed house. I was excited to see so many people interested in using the kinds of original records that can be found in libraries and archives around the state and country.
Next up were two activities of the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists: the Board meeting at lunch time and the general meeting later in the afternoon. Plans are well under way for the Mini PMC (Professional Management Conference), an event designed to help members of the chapter enhance their professional skills. More information about membership and the Mini PMC is available at the chapter's website.
The Saturday evening banquet speaker was Curt Witcher, MA, FUGA, IGSF, of the Allen County Public Library. His presentation emphasized how the technology available today creates opportunities for us to touch others through family history research.
Sunday morning brought a presentation on California research with Cath Trindle, CG, exploring resources available in our golden state. Then it was on to a little big band music and Joel Weintraub, PhD, discussing the release of the 1940 census on April 2, 2012, and how to be prepared for it.
Lastly, I spent a couple of hours at the Ask An Expert table talking with attendees about their research and how they might move forward on some problem areas.
Kudos to the Southern California Genealogical Society, Jamboree chairmen Paula Hinkel and Leo Myers, and all the Jamboree volunteers for a fabulous time! Looking forward to next year!
© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Fun Father's Day Facts from Geni.com
Here are some fun Father's Day facts presented by Geni.com:
Disclaimer: I received no compensation from Geni.com for placing this graphic in my blog.
© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research
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| Create your family tree on Geni for free, and connect to the World Family Tree to find out if you're related to any of our famous fathers. |
Disclaimer: I received no compensation from Geni.com for placing this graphic in my blog.
© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research
Saturday, June 11, 2011
It’s Day 2 of Jamboree 2011!
I can’t believe it is already Saturday and the 2nd day of Jamboree. To recap what I’ve been doing:
The Family History Writers’ Conference on Thursday was outstanding. I attended all four sessions presented by John Colletta, Ph.D. His talks included information on how to assemble the documents and write a narrative family history, how to build historical context, principles of good writing and storytelling, and challenges and pitfalls to writing good narrative family histories. I learned a lot about the process and, although it is still a daunting task, I feel much more comfortable with tackling a writing project of this magnitude.
After my “field trip” yesterday with friend Corey Oiesen to Forest Lawn Memorial Park, I attended Gena Philibert Ortega’s talk on “The Secret Lives of Women: Examining Domestic Artifacts.” She focused on signature quilts, journals and diaries, and community cookbooks. Lots of great resources to explore, including The Quilt Index! One of her examples was a cookbook from Marysville, Ohio – I have to get the link for it because I have ancestors who were in that area!
Then it was on to the Land Platting workshop with Anne Miller, Ph.D., and David Armstrong, M.A. Learning how to plat parcels of land using the metes and bounds descriptions is not really as hard as it appears. Let’s see if I still feel that way in a week or so when I try it on my own at home!
First thing this morning I attended a session by Janis Martin on Unclaimed Persons, the volunteer organization that assists coroners and medical examiners around the country to find next-of-kin of unclaimed persons. Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak founded the organization in 2008. The subtitle of Janis’s talk was “Every life is worth remembering.” This is truly a project worthy of a genealogist’s time.
So many interesting topics by knowledgeable presenters, so little time!
© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research
The Family History Writers’ Conference on Thursday was outstanding. I attended all four sessions presented by John Colletta, Ph.D. His talks included information on how to assemble the documents and write a narrative family history, how to build historical context, principles of good writing and storytelling, and challenges and pitfalls to writing good narrative family histories. I learned a lot about the process and, although it is still a daunting task, I feel much more comfortable with tackling a writing project of this magnitude.
After my “field trip” yesterday with friend Corey Oiesen to Forest Lawn Memorial Park, I attended Gena Philibert Ortega’s talk on “The Secret Lives of Women: Examining Domestic Artifacts.” She focused on signature quilts, journals and diaries, and community cookbooks. Lots of great resources to explore, including The Quilt Index! One of her examples was a cookbook from Marysville, Ohio – I have to get the link for it because I have ancestors who were in that area!
Then it was on to the Land Platting workshop with Anne Miller, Ph.D., and David Armstrong, M.A. Learning how to plat parcels of land using the metes and bounds descriptions is not really as hard as it appears. Let’s see if I still feel that way in a week or so when I try it on my own at home!
First thing this morning I attended a session by Janis Martin on Unclaimed Persons, the volunteer organization that assists coroners and medical examiners around the country to find next-of-kin of unclaimed persons. Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak founded the organization in 2008. The subtitle of Janis’s talk was “Every life is worth remembering.” This is truly a project worthy of a genealogist’s time.
So many interesting topics by knowledgeable presenters, so little time!
© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research
Friday, June 10, 2011
BillionGraves
While attending the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree this week, my friend Corey and I made a trip to Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Both of us have relatives buried at the cemetery. I took photos of the grave markers using the new BillionGraves app for I-phone and uploaded them to the BillionGraves website.
The goal of BillionGraves is to create a family history database with photos and information from cemeteries throughout the world. It's a pretty cool concept - check it out!
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| Myrtle A. Yawman 1878 - 1958 |
Monday, June 6, 2011
I Love Maps!
I don't know whether this is a trait I share with other genealogists, but I love maps! I like to take my old worn-out Rand McNally atlas of the United States and look at the maps. I enjoy finding all the little towns with strange names (strange to me, but probably made sense to someone!). Today I came across the BIG Map Blog - lots of great historical maps - I especially liked the Auto Club's map of Los Angeles and environs circa 1915. Check it out here!
© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research
© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research
The Face of Genealogy
Yesterday, Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers posted about the LA Weekly's disparaging selection of a photo to use with the event information for the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree. In response, here is one of my favorite photographs, my grandparents' wedding picture taken in 1897 in Kansas:
William L. Yawman and Myrtle A. Snider Yawman were the parents of eight children and were married for 51 years. My grandfather died before I was born, and my grandmother died when I was only three years old, but they will live forever in my heart.
© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research
William L. Yawman and Myrtle A. Snider Yawman were the parents of eight children and were married for 51 years. My grandfather died before I was born, and my grandmother died when I was only three years old, but they will live forever in my heart.
© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Jamboree Preregistration Ends Tonight
Register TODAY for the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree! If you pre-register, you'll have some extra cash to spend on that genealogy book or product you see in the Exhibit Hall that you just can't live without.
Genealogy Jamboree Blog: Jamboree - LAST CALL for Preregistration
© 2011 Denise Spurlock
Genealogy Jamboree Blog: Jamboree - LAST CALL for Preregistration
© 2011 Denise Spurlock
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