New England Regional Genealogy Conference, April 1 - May 31

Coming soon: the all-virtual New England Regional Genealogy Conference, which combines both live and on demand (prerecorded) presentations for family historians of all levels. 

If you're researching ancestors from New England (or beyond), this is a great conference to learn a variety of effective strategies and techniques. Dozens of sessions will be available for viewing at any time, from home in your bunny slippers, from April 1 until May 31. No cost for travel, hotel, restaurants, just one conference fee of $150 to view these info-packed, on-demand sessions at your own pace. 

Opening day on April 1 is the first of three "gathering days" featuring top-notch presentations and live chats/Q&A with superstar speakers like Dear Myrtle. Don't miss that evening's "banquet speaker," well-known genealogy mystery author Nathan Dylan Goodwin. 

For special interests, the NERGC conference provides three add-on tracks: DNA, writing your family history, and a professional track about working toward genealogy certification. Each track is $30 for a full day of 4 presentations and live Q&A with speakers. (I'm debuting my "bite-sized projects" talk during the writing track on April 24.)

NERGC has even figured out a way to offer informal "table topics" discussions hosted by members of the NEAPG in a live, virtual format. The popular society fair "tables" and library/archive "tables" will also be there, virtually. Registered attendees can make an appointment for the Ancestor Road Show (help with genealogy questions and brick walls), another special feature of this conference.

Plus you can browse the exhibit hall or have a "virtual drop in" visit with companies that sell all kinds of genealogy-related products. 

I'll miss seeing my genealogy buddies in person, but this virtual conference is the next best thing. Hope to see you in April and May!

Bite-sized Project: A Special Place in Family History

I enjoy bite-sized family history projects because I can research and produce them in a short time--and younger relatives (my audience) clearly like the short takes more than the lengthier projects. 

The key is limiting the focus, rather than trying to create a massive project about the entire family tree. Typically, I focus on one ancestor, one couple, one surname/family, or one special photo/occasion/heirloom. But there are other ways to limit the focus for a bite-sized project.

Focus on one special place

When I recorded my new talk about bite-sized projects for the NERGC 2021 Conference* last week, Carolyn (one of the wonderful audience members) asked about focusing on an ancestral hometown. I told her I love that idea and I'm stealing it! Um, I mean adapting it ;) Another genealogy buddy calls this a #Genealogy travelogue!

A bite-sized project about a special place in family history could be about:

• where an ancestor was born, lived, married, or died
• where an ancestor operated a business or traveled on business
• where an ancestor worshipped
• where an ancestor vacationed or visited
• where something of importance (good or bad) took place that affected an ancestor's life

A paragraph or two to place my ancestor in context

An example is a bite-sized page I want to write about Uzhhorod, Ukraine. Before the Soviet era, this bustling market center was known as Ungvar, Hungary. It was the home town of my maternal grandfather, Theodore Schwartz (1887-1965).

I've done a bit of research into Ungvar's past, when he was a boy and after he left but family remained behind. Also I have a key Census (including street and house number) from when borders were redrawn and the city was part of Czechoslovakia--a Census that includes five Schwartz family members! I have almost enough content for a couple of paragraphs (or a brief video) that will put my grandpa's home town into context, as an element of family history.

For visual interest, I can include a map like the one at top, from a Creative Commons source. No copyright issues as long as I include attribution (https://mapcarta.com/Uzhhorod). I know how images can catch the eye of the audience. 

*I'll be demonstrating the process in detail during my upcoming talk, "Bring Family History Alive in Bite-Sized Projects," at the all-virtual New England Regional Genealogical Conference in April.

Repurposing Ancestor Stories to Share More Widely

Now that I've written a family history booklet about my mother (Daisy Schwartz Burk, 1919-1981) and her twin sister (Dorothy Helen Schwartz, 1919-2001), I'm repurposing the content to share more widely. The bite-sized stories are already written--why not condense, adapt, and post on multiple websites, sharing family history with a larger audience without spending a penny or a pound.

Another approach is to begin with a brief bio you post on a website like FamilySearch or Fold3 or Find a Grave or WikiTree, and use that as the basis for a written booklet or a photobook or some other family-history document for your family to enjoy.

Case Study: Choose Photos, Write Headline

Above, a snippet from the Fold3 memorial page for my aunt, WAC Sgt. Dorothy H. Schwartz, who served during World War II. She's not the first ancestor I've memorialized for free on Fold3, but she's the most recent--a good case study for how to repurpose content.

First, I selected and uploaded several images of my aunt that I had inserted into my booklet. Previously, I had cropped the images to remove extraneous background. For the main profile photo at top left of her Fold3 page, I uploaded a portrait she sent home to her family, prominently featuring the sergeant's stripes on her uniform.

Next, I wrote a headline for my story. My goal was to highlight not just my aunt's military background but also what she did in her life. Therefore, I included her military rank, her full name and dates, and the fact that she was a "decorated WAC" (she earned the Bronze Star in World War II) and, later, a high school teacher.

Case Study: Content for Story

Now I was ready to write the actual story. I consulted the booklet I wrote about my aunt for the main points to include. As context for my aunt's life, I wanted to say something about her family, her education, her specific role in the WACs, and what she did after her honorable discharge. This was covered in my booklet, so all I had to do was copy out sentences, condense where needed, and write smooth transitions.

In the five succinct paragraphs I wrote for the Fold3 memorial, I managed to say:

• Dorothy was a twin (I included her twin's name and their birthdate).
• She lived and went to school in the Bronx, NY, then went to Hunter College.
• She enlisted as a WAC and had a tense voyage across the Atlantic with 650 other WACs headed for Europe. 
• Exactly what her role was as a WAC, listening in as officers made decisions about bombing and transcribing her notes into written orders.
• Dorothy received the Bronze Star and wrote the history of her WAC unit.
• Dorothy returned to school for education courses, then taught at two Bronx high schools until retiring.
• She later became an advocate for renters' rights and consulted on retirement issues.
• When Dorothy died and what cemetery she's buried in (next to her twin).

Now the "family legend" of my aunt's meritorious service during World War II is memorialized for the world to see on Fold3. And I posted it on Find a Grave, too!

TY to Amy Johnson Crow for the #52Ancestors prompt of "Family Legend" for week #2 in the 2021 challenge.

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My presentation, "Bring Family History Alive in Bite-Sized Projects," is part of the all-virtual New England Regional Genealogical Conference in April. I'll be sharing more tips for repurposing ancestor stories. Registration is now open!

Why I Love Bite-Sized Family History Projects

Bite-sized family history projects are more like a sprint than a marathon--and that's what makes them so practical and doable.

Here's why I love bite-sized family history projects:

• They don't drag on and on forever. Researching and writing an entire family history can be overwhelming and time-consuming. Rather than spending many months or even years on one big project, I ease my way into family history by planning, researching, and creating each bite-sized story in a matter of weeks. 
• My enthusiasm remains high when I limit my focus. Focusing on only one or two ancestors, one event (like a wedding,) or one heirloom motivates me to stay engaged for the limited time needed to complete the project.
• Focusing sets the direction and scope. I have a clearer idea of what I'm looking for when conducting genealogical research on just one ancestor or a couple. I also know the time-frame when exploring background issues to put their lives into context for my audience, the next generation (and beyond).
• Smaller projects allow for flexibility and creativity. Do I want to tell the story through a colorful illustrated booklet? A slick photo book? A video featuring family photos and narration by an older cousin? Whatever the final result is, bite-sized projects can be assembled into larger blocks later on.
• The audience will have something now. It's never too soon to get relatives interested in the family's past. A bite-sized project eases them into learning about ancestors little by little, just as it eases me into telling the stories little by little. 

My newest bite-sized family history project is approaching the finish line: A photo-studded booklet about my mother (Daisy Schwartz Burk, 1919-1981) and her twin sister (Dorothy Schwartz, 1919-2001). 

The excerpt at top shows part of a page telling about my Auntie Dorothy's experiences in the Women's Army Corps during World War II. She was on board the RMS Aquitania as the oceanliner-turned-troop ship made its way from New York City to Scotland, with the constant fear of German submarine attack anywhere in the Atlantic. Now that's a story the next generation doesn't know and will be astonished to hear!

"Newest" is the #52Ancestors prompt for week 41. Only 11 more weekly prompts in 2020. This is one of my Genealogy Blog Party links for December, 2020!

NOTE: My newest presentation, "Bring Family History Alive in Bite-Sized Projects," will debut at the all-virtual New England Regional Genealogical Conference in April. More event details available soon!

Meet NERGC Speaker Dave Robison

Dave Robison

Are you searching for ancestors who spelled their names in creative ways, never the same way twice? Or perhaps you're planning to interview a relative about family history? Then don't miss Dave Robison's presentations at this year's NERGC conference, full of great ideas to take your genealogy research to the next level.

Dave is a professional genealogist and owner of Old Bones Genealogy of New England. Not only is he President of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists, he is also President of the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society, a past president of the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (NEAPG), and the Registrar for the Pomeroy Chapter of the Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (MASSAR).

In my role as an official NERGC blogger, I caught up with Dave during a rare break in his busy schedule. He answered a few questions about his involvement in genealogy.

1. One of your presentations is about interviewing relatives to record the past for future generations. What happened when you first interviewed your own relatives?

Initially, I interviewed an aunt simply for a reason to have a conversation! For a variety of reasons, we were driving back from an event at my sister’s in upstate New York. We just got to talking about how she met my uncle, what was life like for them in the mid-50s, what was it like raising 5 children all born within 6 years, where did she go to school, where did she work before her marriage to my uncle, and on and on. It was a 4 hour drive so we talked a lot.

2. What inspired you to become a professional genealogist and help others explore their family trees?

I grew up in a household where, at a very young age, if I asked a question of my mother, her response was, “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.” When I’d ask my father, his response, “Go ask your mother!” That’s bit of an exaggeration, but basically it was the culture of our little family. Of course, I’d be all ears at holidays and other occasions when a larger group of relatives got together. I learned that my maternal grandmother, Hazel, was raised by her grandparents because her own mother had died, that her cause of death had been “milk leg,” that her grandfather (my 2nd great grandfather) came from England, that my father was in the US Navy during WW II but never heard any details, and lots of other stories that I couldn’t connect until I grew a bit older.

As a genealogist, many of these tidbits surfaced and when I had time, I’d run down the details. For example, “milk leg,” it turns out, must have been their euphemism for cervical cancer as that was the cause of death of my grandmother’s mother. In the 1950’s, no one would dare say the word “cervical” out loud! I discovered this when I went to the Worcester, Massachusetts City Hall and ordered her death certificate.

There are hundreds of family history jewels where I only had hints. Here’s the best story: My father was born in Evergreen, Conecuh County, Alabama. I contacted the Conecuh County Historical Society to request information. I was strongly advised that if I was going to do any family history research in Evergreen, I should contact Mrs. Sarah R. Coker who had been researching the families of Evergreen and surrounding communities for decades. “Write clearly” I was advised, as Mrs. Coker was elderly and had vision problems. I quickly fired off a letter that I printed in large fonts to make sure she could read it. About 2 weeks later, Mrs. Sarah R. Coker replied. She was delighted that I finally contacted her. She was my paternal great-aunt, my paternal grandfather’s sister. By the way, I had never met, spoken to or seen a picture of my paternal grandfather who had died in 1964. When I visited her in her home in Evergreen, she regaled me with stories and shared mountains of research. Wow!

3. Do you have a favorite ancestor story from your family's past? 

I would have to say that currently, my favorite story begins with one of my many pilgrim ancestors who found their way to Plymouth Colony. In Springfield, Massachusetts, there’s a statue of one of the founders, Deacon Samuel Chapin who came to what was then called the Agawam Plantation (later renamed “Springfield”) at the behest of William Pynchon, a wealthy businessman from Springfield, Birmingham, England. The statue stands in Merrick Park next to the main branch of the Springfield Library. My sister and I attended grammar school about a block away and often ran over to Merrick Park to play or run through the many museums that are next door in what is known as “The Quadrangle.” By the way, the new national museum dedicated to Dr Seuss is here at the Quadrangle. At any rate, Diane and I had no real idea who the Deacon was or what his history might be. 

Years later, as I was researching ancient local families, I discovered a pattern of family names in a certain section of the Springfield Cemetery. The “Ancient Burying Grounds” from the original settlement had been moved there in 1848 as it was right on the river bank and had suffered from many floods but was also going to be split off as a result of the railroad coming through separating the city from that area. The railroad, ironically was being built by a prominent Chapin descendant, Chester William Chapin. Many coincidental names began to come together and as it turns out, I  am the 8th great grandson of the Deacon! I use this story in many of my genealogy classes and my favorite closing for the story is to ask the class, “…and what does that get me??” They toss out a few suggestions, but the real answer is this: “A good genealogy story!”

4. What tools and discoveries keep genealogy fresh and exciting for you, even after years in the field?

First, I have to state for everyone’s benefit that you don’t know what you don’t know. So the discoveries keep on coming! Naturally, the internet is a useful tool but understanding that it isn’t the only tool is critical. The discoveries just keep on coming, whether it’s a new collection that gets added to a website, a new discovery at an archive or repository, a DNA connection to someone who knows a great deal about a newly discovered branch of my family or just the chance to talk with people whose names and dates I’ve had for years but have finally able to connect with.

5. What is your game plan for getting the most out of your NERGC experience?

I’ve been heavily involved with NERGC for the past 2 or 3 conferences with many duties. I’m still involved but not to the extent of previous years so I hope to actually get to attend the presentations that interest me! I won’t be pulled in dozens of directions. So my game plan is simple: Make sure that the societies I represent fully comply with our volunteer hours commitment and beyond that, attend as many sessions as possible including luncheons and dinners, network with as many colleagues as possible, meet other genealogists who I may not have had a chance to meet in the past, and seek out the dozens of colleagues I know from interaction on webinars and social media whom I’ve never met in person.
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Dave Robison is presenting two programs at this year's NERGC conference:

Session T-113, The Interview: Recording the Past for the Future (Thursday, 4:30-5:30 pm) - sponsored by the Connecticut Society of Genealogists
Session S-150, Speelin Duzn't Cownt - and Other Online Search Rules (Saturday, 1:45-2:45 pm) - sponsored by the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society

Meet NERGC Speaker Mel E. Smith

Are you looking for an elusive divorce record in New England? Or trying to find out whether your ancestors ever stood in a Connecticut courtroom? Mel E. Smith of the Connecticut State Library knows just how to chart a path through these and so many other records in the library's collection!

As Librarian II in the History & Genealogy Unit of the Connecticut State Library, Mel serves as a reference librarian and supervises the microfilm and ephemera collections. He has been instrumental in the creation of many databases that library patrons find valuable in their research. In addition, he is a member of the Connecticut Professional Genealogist’s Council and the Salmon Brook Historical Society.

In my role as an official NERGC blogger, I asked Mel how he got interested in family history, which genealogy challenges he finds especially rewarding, and more.

1. Growing up, did your relatives talk about the family tree? Were you drawn to a specific ancestor or a special family photo?

My father was one of ten children, and as such, I had twenty-four first cousins.  The Smith family would often gather together for holidays or birthday celebrations and I remember at an early age telling my younger brother who everyone was, and how they were related to us. I guess that the genealogy bug caught me early on.

It was my maternal grandmother (Gram to me) who told me stories of her Putnam family of New Hampshire and their links to the Salem witch trials. It was from these early stories that she made history come to life as past family members actually played an important, even infamous, part in American history. One of my most treasured possessions is the hand-written genealogy that she gave me for Christmas one year when I was in my teens.

If I had to pick one ancestor who I have been drawn to, it would be my Great-Great Uncle Charles F. Blackington who served in the Union Army from the State of Maine during the Civil War. After the war, he moved out west for health reasons and served as a self-taught country doctor, miner/prospector, and sheriff in Colorado and New Mexico. I have discovered a great deal of interesting stories about him in the rough and tumble environment he found himself in. I hope that even though Charles never had any children survive to adulthood, that as a result of my historical research, I can provide information about his life to my children so that they have a better understating of his life and remember with pride an American original.

2. Books, genealogy, history--which of these is your first love, and why?

I would have to say books (kind of a natural for a librarian right?), followed by history and genealogy. Books can take you to any point in history and open up an entirely new world of wonder for a young reader. I have always loved reading about history of all kinds. I think I developed this love early as my father was very interested in history as well.  But genealogy ties my love of books and history all together by making it personal! 

3. You will be leading one NERGC session on finding New England divorce records and another on Connecticut court records. Why are these types of records often so difficult to locate?

That is a very good question! Court records can be very daunting to some family historians because they do not understand the amazing, varied, amount of genealogical data that can be found in criminal or civil court records. A second reason court records may be difficult to use is the sheer number and types of different courts systems, and confusion regarding the location and access of the actual records.

4. In your role at the Connecticut State Library, what types of genealogy inquiries do you find especially challenging or rewarding?

I love my job at the Connecticut State Library because it allows me to assist people in finding information about their long ago (or not so long ago) ancestors. Each day can be like the first day on the job as the questions that are asked, while similar, can lead us on a different adventure of family discovery.

I must say that two types of questions really get me going. The first pertains to a family, any family, that had lived in Connecticut for a generation or longer, and then settles out of state. Connecticut served as a springboard for so many settlers that went to other locations in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, other places points West, and even to Canada! It is always a thrill to help patrons find their family as they moved through time across this wonderful country of ours.

The second question that I often get pertains to those individuals that are researching adoption cases. These types of cases can be very challenging due to the nature of the records, as they may be restricted depending upon the time period. Another reason adoption cases are difficult is the lack of information about the case. In Connecticut one must know the birth name of the child in order to have a good chance of finding the relevant adoption record. Another reason is the vast number of probate courts that once existed in Connecticut that might have processed the adoption. Adoption cases can be frustrating, but very rewarding when you are able to lead a patron to the names of the biological parents.     

5. What is your game plan for getting the most out of this year's NERGC conference?

The NERGC conference allows me the opportunity to sit back and learn new ways or techniques of conducting genealogical search to better assist my patrons, as well as furthering my own personal research. Whether it be attending as many sessions that I can, or taking part in a special workshop or luncheon, I always learn something new and exciting about the field of genealogy. 

One other way that I learn is to talk to other conference-goers to see what they are seeing and value in the field of genealogy. As the field is constantly evolving and changing (and I would say for the better), it is always important to learn what worked for others in breaking down a genealogical brick wall.

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Mel Smith is presenting two programs at NERGC, both on Saturday:

• Session S-105, Finding Your New England Family in Divorce Records (8:30-9:30 am)

• Session S-137, Finding Your Family in Connecticut Court Records (4:45-5:45 pm)

Meet NERGC Speaker Bryna O'Sullivan

Bryna O'Sullivan - NERGC 2019 Speaker

Do you have a New England patriot in your family tree? Maybe you need ideas for reading genealogy documents written in French? Pro genealogist Bryna O'Sullivan is an expert in both of these areas! I've seen her speak at Connecticut genealogy events, and she really knows her stuff.

Now Bryna is presenting two programs at the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium (NERGC) conference in New Hampshire, April 3-6, 2019. She's a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and she applies her academic background in history, church history, and French to the genealogy projects she undertakes. Please visit her website, Charter Oak Genealogy, to learn more.

In my role as an official NERGC blogger, I asked Bryna a few questions about how she got started in family history, who's in her family tree, and making the most of the NERGC experience.

1. What kindled your early interest in genealogy, and why did you decide to become a professional genealogist?

Surprisingly enough, my interest didn’t start with the traditional “family tree” project. My elementary school had (and still has) a unit on the Mayflower as a way to introduce students to American history. Seeing how intrigued I was by the unit, my great-grandmother shared that we were descended from one of the Mayflower’s passengers and a little bit about our family’s history. I wanted to know more about the stories. It was enough to get me started. Although I researched inconsistently through school, the early love has stayed with me and only grown over time. As an aside, I was actually able to go full circle and conduct a genealogy workshop at the school several weeks ago.

Becoming a professional genealogist was a way for me to tie together my love of those stories, my love of the French language and a desire to make a difference. Every day, I’m lucky enough to help my clients access their past. Sometimes, it’s through translating historic documents. Other times, it’s through preparing a lineage society application. But in each case, I’m able to give them a deeper sense of where they came from and what that can mean for their lives.

2. One of the programs you're presenting is about proving service for a New England patriot. Do you have a patriot in your family tree?

I actually have “patriots” – defined by the Daughters of the American Revolution as “one who provided service or direct assistance in achieving America’s independence” -  on multiple lines of my family tree. My “patriot” ancestors include one of the surveyors of Connecticut’s Western Reserve, a Maryland plantation owner, a militia officer in Quebec and several others. While I’ve not yet proved all of them to DAR standards, I’ve loved to chance to delve into their history and learn more about their lives.

3. What have you learned about genealogy research that you wish you had known when you first started out?

Although there’s very little I wish I had known in advance, as learning is part of the process, there’s one thing that my family did right for which I’m very grateful. My family has always told stories and tied them into our current experiences. Most were positive. When I was studying the Connecticut River, my great-grandmother told me about the ancestor who was a riverboat captain. My mother shared stories about pranks her father played as a child.

However, many stories were not. My grandmother spoke about the French officer who saved my grandfather’s life in the Second World War. Another relative mentioned how an ancestor had died at the Battle of Petersburg. These stories gave incredible gifts: they provided the details I needed to research my family further, but more importantly, a sense of where we had come from, that we had survived tough things, and that we could keep going. Too many families don’t share these stories on the belief that they don’t matter. They do.

4. If you could visit with one ancestor in your family tree, who would you choose, and why?

I was lucky enough to grow up with her! My great-grandmother, who started my interest in family history, joined the US Navy during World War I. As a yeoman (F), she was one of the first women to enlist in the United States military. I attended several events that honored veterans with her when I was a child. How she handled the reaction from World War II vets who assumed she was lying about her service provided a powerful lesson about public perception and standing up for yourself. It was far from her only lesson.

5. What is your game plan for getting the most out of your NERGC experience?

For me, one of the joys of NERGC is learning more about what genealogists are interested in discovering. I’ve carefully blocked out time to work in the Ancestor Roadshow to get a little more one on one discussion.
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Bryna O'Sullivan is presenting two programs at NERGC, both on Friday:

Session F-135, Tips & Tricks for French Language Documents (1:45-2:45 pm)
Session F-134, Prove New Service for a New England Patriot (4:45-5:45 pm)

Blogiversary #9: Fewer Brickwalls, More DNA and Facebook Connections

What a year 2017 has been (and it's not over)! Nine years ago, when I first began blogging about my genealogy adventures, I knew the names of only four of the eleven people in this photo from my parents' wedding album. Earlier this year, thanks to Mom's address book and Cousin Ira's cache of letters, I smashed a brickwall blocking me from researching Grandpa Isaac Burk. Now I have a new set of friendly cousins and the names of all the people in this photo. And more info about my father's father's father, Elias Solomon Birk. 

This was DNA year for me. Thanks to "known" cousins on both sides of the family who kindly agreed to test, I have a lot more "probable" cousins (we're still investigating our connections). It was especially helpful and motivating to meet DNA experts at the IAJGS, where I gave my talk on Planning a Future for Your Family's Past. I also attended DNA sessions at NERGC, where I spoke on the same "planning a future" topic. (For a calendar of my upcoming presentations, please see the masthead tab above.)

Future genealogy: Using a pinhole viewer on Eclipse Day

This year will go down in American history for the unique solar eclipse that swept the nation . . . for my genealogical journey, it will be remembered as the year I created detailed family memory booklets for my husband's Wood-Slatter tree and his McClure-Steiner tree. (For sample pages, see my blog post here.)

My Facebook genealogy persona Benjamin McClure (memorialized on family T-shirts) has had a wonderful time making new genealogy friends and both posting questions and answering queries. Benji is also active on Pinterest. I really appreciate how many people are very generous with their knowledge and take the time to help solve family history mysteries via social media!

Plus I got to meet many genealogy bloggers in person at conferences this year. It was wonderful to say hello and get acquainted without a keyboard for a change.

Thank you to my relatives and readers for checking out my posts, leaving comments, and sharing ideas. Looking forward to Blogiversary #10 next year!

NERGC 2017 Last day

My last day of #NERGC2017 featured a New York City double-header. First: Susan Miller's 8:30 session on "NYC Municipal Archives." Susan offered a virtual tour of the many valuable records available at the archives, including some (like the Almshouse Records) not well-known but useful.

I scribbled lots of notes on my syllabus page! Top tip: Remember that NYC became a five-borough city only in 1898, and Bronx County wasn't formed till 1914 (before, it was part of NY County, meaning lumped with Manhattan).

Next, Jane Wilcox's session on "New York Gateway," all about immigration, emigration, and migration to and through New York, city and state. Not records, but really interesting historical context about who came when and where, also why.

Top tip: consider how ancestors got from point A to point B. Hubby's Bentley ancestors, for instance, were in Oswego in the 1800s but wound up in Indiana. How? I need to look at waterways, which many used to go to the midwest.

Thank you to the NERGC volunteers and committee and speakers! And a safe trip home to my gen blogger friends, whose company I enjoyed.

NERGC 2017 Day 2

Well what a wonderful day 2 here at NERGC. My first session was Maureen Taylor's talk about dating photos using fashion tips.

Wonderful 8:30 talk and lots of fun guessing "why" as well as "when" the fashions were from. Top tip: remember that older folks (ladies in particular) may be wearing clothes from a few years earlier, not the more daring fashions of contemporary time. Motivated me to look more closely at my "mystery" photos!

Next session I attended was Michael Strauss's fascinating session on 1930s-1940s records that aren't well known but are available (usually via NARA).

Top tip from that session was--check the finding aids and try to conceive of where/when your ancestor would have come in contact with one of the government programs of that time, whether unemployment or CCC or even as a business hiring unemployed folks vis NRA. Really intriguing session!

Lunch: Table topics were fascinating, and after deliberating, I sat at a DNA discussion table. We chatted about Gedmatch.com, DNA testing older relatives, considering more indepth testing, and everyone's pet peeve--people who test but post no trees and answer no emails about matching.

The afternoon began with Christine Crawford-Oppenheimer's "Grandma Married Whom?!" all about evaluating gen info on the Internet. She showed some great examples illustrating why it's important to question stuff posted online. You mean I'm not really descended from Charlemagne? Bummer.

I had just a few minutes to skip over to Warren Bittner's talk, "Writing to Engage," which was still going on, lucky me! He had some great suggestions for vivid and active writing. Our choice of words can really bring our ancestors alive, in a literary sense, for future generations.

Next was Pam Stone Eagleson's interesting presentation about resolving conflicting evidence. Rarely does every source agree on every point. So how do we decide which name is correct or which date is correct? Consider the quality of the evidence (original/derivative source, direct/indirect source, etc). Think about when the document was created and why. Excellent advice.

Finally, I enjoyed Juliana Szucs' talk about Ancestry's arrival records. Very practical, "how to" review of what records are available, how to search (wildcards and all), and the human dimension of immigration. Top tip: Search in the specific record collection and vary spellings and dates to find elusive immigrant ancestors.

Stay tuned for day 3. Can't believe the conference is nearing its end.

NERGC 2017 - Thursday

My Day 1 of #NERGC2017 began by meeting some blogging buddies (in person!) and then Mary Tedesco's inspirational opening talk. Genealogy is more popular than ever and we have so many more tools than when I began 19 years ago.

Mary pointed out that microfilm technology revolutionized genealogy by unlocking documents that were once only available in person.

Now DNA is revolutionizing our way of thinking about building family trees as well as expanding our knowledge of ancestors. The conference was buzzing about DNA!

I attended Carol McCoy's excellent talk on finding elusive ancestors who seem to be missing from the census. She showed that some ancestors are really there, simply misindexed or not on the correct page. Top tip: Compare the census images and indexes from multiple sources (Family Search and Ancestry and Heritage Quest, for example).

My wonderful friends Mary and Ray helped me set up the projector in room 3 for my talk Planning a Future for Your Family's Past. Lots of good questions from the audience about protecting photos, in particular, and how to resolve potential fights over family artifacts when more than one person wants them. My top tip: Start now to caption your photos so the next generation will know who's who!

Next, I attended Kathryn Smith Black's presentation, "Lawyer or Sawyer? Using the British Census." Good techniques for finding my hubby's UK ancestors. Especially liked audience participation guessing what the handwriting says on these old census forms!

Then my conference day ended with the blogging SIG, led by Heather Rojo. Great fun to visit with bloggers from around New England and swap stories, tips, plans. And the conference is in full swing...more posts to come as the sessions continue.

NERGC 2017 Preview

NERGC 2017 is about to begin! Before leaving home, I created a game plan of which sessions I want to attend (#1 and #2 pick per time period). Also I printed out syllabus materials only for those sessions, ready to make notes as the speakers talk. The full syllabus is on my laptop if I want to review during the conference.

Easy-breezy ride to the hotel and a short walk to the conference center. At right is the view from the center.

Registration is open so I picked up my name tag and tote bag and tickets. I was especially grateful for the handy day-by-day pages created by the organizers, each listing the events of one day with a meeting room map on the back. Very convenient!

Can't wait to see old gen buddies and meet new gen buddies. See you at "Bloggers' Central" in the exhibit hall.

Motivation Monday: Preparing for NERGC 2017

In just a couple of weeks, NERGC 2017 will take place--April 26-29 in Springfield, MA.

To prepare, I have two sets of genealogy calling cards, as shown above. The top one lists my family tree research and the bottom one lists my husband's family tree research. On the reverse side of each is contact info.

I can exchange cards with other conference attendees and post on bulletin boards, etc, hoping to connect with researchers who are chasing the same ancestors (if I'm lucky).

My feeling is that listing specific places when known (such as "Botpalad" for my Hungarian ancestors and "Elkhart/Wabash, Indiana" for hubby's Larimer family) helps other researchers quickly narrow down potential matches.

There are so many interesting sessions and tracks at this year's conference! I can't miss Mary Tedesco's opening keynote, "What Can Our Ancestors Teach Us About Genealogy?" on Thursday at 10 am.

My talk is part of the Thursday afternoon track, Genealogy Heirlooms in the Attic, which kicks off at 1:30 pm with Pam Stone Eagleson, "Using Bibles in Genealogical Research" (session T-106).

My session, "Planning a Future for Your Family's Past," follows at 3 pm (session T-114), with info about how to organize and store genealogy materials, decide what to keep and what to give away, write a genealogical "will," and share family history with heirs.

Next is Edwin W. Strickland's presentation, "Saving the Past for the Future: Preserving Family Objects" (session T-121), starting at 4:30 pm.

See you there? Please say hello!

Meet NERGC Speaker Jennifer Zinck, Expert on DNA Results

Jennifer Zinck

DNA is one of the most talked-about topics in genealogy these days—and expert Jennifer Zinck is diving into the details of DNA results during two NERGC workshops. As a researcher, writer, and speaker who specializes in the intersection of traditional and genetic genealogy, Jennifer frequently makes presentations on topics including beginner and intermediate genealogy, genetic genealogy, using DNA for unknown parentage, and technology for genealogy. She serves as the President of the Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council, is a member of the Genetic Genealogy Standards Committee, and participates in professional organizations including ISOGG and the Association of Professional Genealogists.

At NERGC, Jennifer will be conducting two hands-on workshops about DNA results and a presentation about online research. The first DNA workshop is on Wednesday, April 26, from 6 - 8 pm, and the second (already sold out) takes place on Thursday, April 27, from 9 – 11 am. Titled “After the Test: Exploring AncestryDNA Results,” the workshop is designed to help participants make sense of their results, use third-party tools to turn DNA into a powerful tool for genealogy, and plan to contact DNA matches. 

Jennifer is also presenting “Tools and Techniques for Finding Family Online” on Saturday, April 29, from 3:15 – 4:15 pm. This will be a hands-on program in the technology classroom, guiding participants through people-finder websites, databases, searches, and social media for locating individuals. Jennifer will be at the DNA Special Interest Group meeting on Thursday evening, starting at 7:15 pm, if you want to chat further!And don't forget--the deadline for early-bird registration savings is February 28th.

1. What tools and discoveries keep your genealogical journey exciting, day after day?

I am always excited to meet new cousins. There is something about connecting with others who share some of the same roots that fascinates me. I think the most exciting documents are typically found hiding in manuscript collections. These records add interest and excitement to the stories of our ancestors and can often break down brick walls.  

2. What have you learned about researching family history that you wish you had known when you first began doing genealogy?

Cite your sources and write as you go! I have learned these two lessons the hard way, with many thanks to Elissa Powell and Barbara Mathews. By writing as I go along, I often surprise myself about the details I have been able to glean from a particular document. Take the time to really evaluate each piece of information included in each source and you will be amazed at the problems you can solve.

3. If you had an hour of time travel to visit with anyone on your family tree (past, present, or even future), who would you pick, and why?

I think about this difficult question often. Most of the time I would visit with my maternal grandmother but sometimes I choose her mother's mother's mother, Lois Chalker Walston. Lois was probably born in 1804 in Guilford, Connecticut and I don't know much about her life before she married her husband in 1831. After 15 years of searching, last year I was finally able to identify her mother thanks to a manuscript in Dr. Alvan Talcott's collection of papers at the New Haven Museum. I would like to know more about her life as a child and if she had any relationships with her Chalker or Benton grandparents.

4. Who is your most surprising, inspiring, pitiable, or endearing ancestor?

Each and every ancestor is equally inspiring to me. Without any one of them, I would not be here.

5. What are the top things you want attendees to remember from your NERGC workshop about DNA results?

Have patience and be open-minded and flexible. Genetic genealogy is a new and rapidly-evolving field. What you think you know today may not be the case tomorrow! DNA results are not the easiest to learn to work with but keep at it and the pieces will all eventually fall into place.

6. What is your game plan for getting the most out of the NERGC conference?

I have looked through the lectures in the schedule and there is an amazing line-up. I prioritized the sessions that I would like to attend and planned my volunteer time accordingly. I am the chairperson of the Ancestor Roadshow in addition to presenting a lecture and two workshop sessions so I will have plenty to keep me occupied throughout the conference. Thursday night, I have invited Blaine Bettinger and Diahan Southard to co-host the DNA Special Interest Group with me, so that is sure to be a blast. I will be hosting a DNA table topic at the NEAPG Luncheon on Friday. I always make sure that I allocate mealtimes and some evenings to visit with friends, both old and new. That's one of the best parts of NERGC!

Meet NERGC Speaker Janeen Bjork, Expert on Newspaper Research

Extra! Extra! Janeen Bjork has combined her 30 years of experience as a television researcher and presenter with her love of family history. Her methodology for locating hard-to-find newspaper items was developed as she uncovered 130 widely-varying accounts of the 1894 murder-suicide that left one of her great-great-grandfathers dead in Syracuse, New York. Her popular "Newspapers for Genealogy" classes, workshops, and presentations in CT, NY and MA, have helped many others research their families over the years.

Janeen will share her tips and tricks at NERGC on Saturday, April 29th, from 3:15 – 4:15 pm, during her presentation “Using Newspapers to Track Your Family, Character by Character.” She’ll discuss the technology that allows newspapers to be scanned and indexed, offer her Top 10 Tips for searching digitized newspapers, and share her favorite online newspaper resources. Look for her upcoming classes and presentations at JaneensList.com/Events, https://twitter.com/JaneensList, and https://www.facebook.com/janeen.bjork.3. You can get to know her notorious great-great-grandfather on the social media accounts she manages in his name (https://twitter.com/WilliamStrutz and https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009395213740).

1.      What first attracted you to genealogy, and what keeps it fresh and fascinating every day?

My sister-in-law sat me down in front of her computer on Thanksgiving Day, 2011 and said, “This is Ancestry.com. You’re doing this for your niece and nephew.” She added that she had been working on her family tree for over four years, and her two children, who share my surname, wanted to know where the Bjorks were. I had a professional background in research (you could say research is in my DNA) and in a matter of days, I found second cousins who had been doing genealogy for two or three decades, and who were looking for me. I’d like to say we’ve been doing “Genealogy on steroids” ever since. And there were many octogenarians and nonagenarians in both my ancestral lines who were happy to let me pick their brains, scan their photos and documents, and swab their cheeks for DNA.

As for fresh and fascinating every day, I am energized by opportunities to pass on what I have learned. It’s gratifying to be told that someone who heard me speak about my online newspaper methodology broke through a brick wall. And it’s a kick when new family items come my way. In late 2016 my sister and my father were both cleaning out old boxes and came up with photos of my maternal grandmother’s parents, WWII ration books and a postcard written during the war. Taking my own advice during the holidays, I looked for family members in newspapers beyond the areas where they lived and  found a photo of my mother's brother Al Quadrini and two other Navy SeaBees on the front page (above the fold!) of the Oxnard Press Courier in 1954 when they dug ditches for a California Boys Club. Stories about my brother Bob Bjork appeared in several distant New York newspapers when his 1978 high school basketball team went to the state championship finals.

2.      Who is your most exotic, challenging, exciting, admirable, despicable, or enigmatic ancestor?
 
That’s easy: My great-great-grandfather William Strutz. He was arrested in June 1893 on a charge of assault in the third degree on his wife. He was the first murder victim in Syracuse in almost a year when his former best friend, Henry Vogler, who believed William had been seeing Henry’s wife, shot William and then killed himself in July 1894. Both the Associated Press and United Press picked up the story, and to date I’ve found 130 accounts of the tragedy. Two German language papers had the story as well, one in Syracuse, where a major German celebration was happening and where there was time for local gossip to embellish the story before the weekly published, and one in Baltimore where an editor changed their names to Wilhelm and Heinrich.

There is a relative who is a close second to William that I could call exciting. It was my father’s Aunt Dorothea, a thrice-married flapper. Her picture appeared in the paper multiple times, for her achievements as a captain and pitcher for a "Girls" softball team sponsored by the Syracuse Journal in the 1930s, as well as for a suicide attempt at 17 and a near drowning in a swim meet at 18. She died at age 86 in San Diego, California.

3.      What are your favorite tools for researching family history?

I am a big booster of newspapers for genealogy. My first eight-week Intermediate Genealogy class spent six weeks looking at online newspaper sites. Obituaries are the most obvious places to start when researching ancestors. But there are often stories leading up to or following the death that are full of details. Obituaries and death certificates will tell you that someone died in a vehicular accident, but a newspaper story may tell you who they were with, where they were going, and what they were doing at the time.

My second favorite tool is DNA testing. I’ve gotten 10 family members to agree to test (only one is a generation behind me, most are my parents’ generation) and to appear in various databases. While we have yet to break through a brick wall, we have found some distant cousins we wouldn’t have met any other way.

4.      What’s the number one thing you want attendees to remember from your NERGC presentation about using newspapers to research family history?

The importance of keyword searches. Names can be misspelled, or altered by a hyphen or by optical character recognition. Fuzzy search and Boolean queries have helped me unearth many hidden items. So go ahead and try different spellings and strategies.

5.      What is your game plan for getting the most out of NERGC?
 
While I always create a game plan for Genealogy conferences, and intend to take advantage of the many sessions and workshops, I also like to improvise. Conferences are fabulous networking opportunities. I made a connection with James M. Beidler at the 2016 New York State Family History Conference. Jim specializes in newspaper research (as well as German and Pennsylvania research) and he has asked me to contribute the William Strutz story to his upcoming book, The Family Tree Historical Newspapers Guide.

6.      What is your greatest genealogical regret?

My maternal grandmother and I spent three weeks in the ancestral hometown in 1983 and I was introduced to about 55 close Italian relatives. Since then I have been the family ambassador, accompanying other American family members and writing the letters and emails to my many Italian cousins.

In 2014, in preparation for a family reunion, I decided it was time to visit the records office in Arpino, Italy. It was my personal "Under The Tuscan Sun," as I heard "no" (it's the same word in Italian) more times that morning than I had in any morning in my life. With the help of a cousin and someone from My Italian Family (run by Bianca Ottone from New Hope, PA), I spent the afternoon in the two churches of the town and found my family first appeared in the records in the 1500s, with a slightly different name. A church custodian told me there was a man in town who had researched my family and other Arpino families. I left without asking for that man's contact information. Big mistake. I learned last year that he had died and his nephews hadn't valued the work. He had used the church records to track all the early families, recording his trees on the backs of calendar pages. Another genealogy lesson learned the hard way.

Save the Dates for NERGC, April 26-29

Save the dates for the New England Regional Genealogical Conference, April 26-29, in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

The theme is "Using the Tools of Today & Tomorrow to Understand the Past." As always, the program is packed with informative sessions and workshops.

I can't wait to see the featured speakers in person, especially Thomas MacEntee, Kenyatta Berry, and Warren Bittner.

My session, "Planning a Future for Your Family's Past," is part of the new "Genealogy Heirlooms in the Attic" track on the afternoon of Thursday, April 27th.

I'm delighted to have been chosen as an official blogger, which means I'll be posting about the conference before, during, and after. 

Early-bird pricing for registration is available now. Just click here to sign up! See you in April.

Speaking at the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium - April 2017

The program for the next NERGC conference has just been released...and I'm excited to be speaking on Thursday, April 27th, from 3-4 pm.

My presentation, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past, is part of the "Genealogy Heirlooms in the Attic" track.

Featured speakers at the conference include Thomas MacEntee, Warren Bittner, and Kenyatta Berry.

Click here to see the conference program in .pdf format. And I'm looking forward to seeing you in April!